-
On the surface West Side Story looks like it can't miss. The script re-sets Romeo and Juliet in 1950s New York City with the star-crossed lovers as members of rival groups. Leonard Bernstein provides the mid-century moderne score full of hip, jazzy flare and Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim got his first big break providing the lyrics. The show can best be described as "iconic" (and "iconic" means there's a lot of room to fall). The music, of all it's beauty, is tricky and requires first class performers. Bad acting can turn the show into an unintended caricature. Is the latest professional offering of West Side Story bad? No, but the production is not without its problems.
-
Chief among those problems are leads Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt. Harris has the right look but his nasal singing and vibrato that can best be described as "unrestrained" ruins a lot of his solos. Worse he has a tendency to go flat on his big notes. Ewoldt has an awesome soprano voice but her Puerto Rican accent sounds like some sort of bad mockery rather than sincere imitation. (OK, maybe I'm just over-sensitive here--but accents are a big thing to me--and this one wasn't so great.) Still, she made you believe her performance. She has one of the best moments in the entire show with the "Diva battle" in I Feel Pretty. (Go see the production if you want to see what I'm talking about.) Sadly, Ewoldt and Harris don't blend that well and they should be seamless.
-
The rest of the cast are fine singers and dancers and they all play their parts well. Of course, having seen West Side Story more times than I'd care to remember I've finally come to realize that besides leading characters Tony and Maria--NOBODY is that likable with the exception of minor character Doc the Drugstore Owner who vainly tries to show the characters a better way. As for the rest of the characters they are just sad--and NOT in a good way. In addition, the more times times I see the show the harder it is for me to suspend my disbelief: yes it's "musical" logical but sometimes even musical logic stretches the bounds of verisimilitude.
-
On the plus side, the three-piece orchestra managed a remarkably full sound although I'd have preferred a bigger orchestra for a more-varied sound (this show was pretty heavy on the brass). The minimal (but not Minimalist) sets were effective as was the lighting design. The costumes were suitably 1950s and realistic enough: I found I could tell one group from another so that was a good thing.
-
Sadly, I could have done without a lot of the "updates" to the show: a couple of songs had extensive lyrics in Spanish: if you knew the language or the show you were fine but if not you're lost. Likewise I really could have done without the symbolic rape scene near the end of Act Two (although it does give Anita a proper reason for betraying the young lovers). That being said, updates are going to be an inevitable part of the show and I suppose they could have gone much grittier and far nastier than some implied violence. (They could have littered the lyrics with "F-Bombs" for example.) Maybe I should be grateful for what I got.
-
Now that has all been said I think it's only fair to report that my opinion is in the decided minority: the Orange County Performing Arts Centre was nearly sold out and most of them really seemed to enjoy the show. West Side Story has enough content to challenge the casual viewer without frustrating them. The show isn't a complete Air Biscuit so the audience can go away thinking they've actually SEEN something and had a worthwhile evening. Bitter old Critics like might might not love the show but the average theater-goer will find a lot to like.
-
FINAL GRADE: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment