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West Side Story Reviews
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| 1 |
Review by: BostonSuburbs, May 2, 2011 |
| Terrible - I felt like I watched a high-school play instead of a broadway play. The acting and dancing was awful. The play was modernized with college-humor. My brothers and our wives brought my 80-year old mother to see this show. |
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Don't go
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The director should know better Review by: dougs, Dec 31, 2010 |
| Saw this show a second time last night, as my 19 year old son wanted to go. I wished I had talked him out of it, as the show was just as bad the second time as it was the first. No passion, flat, and poorly acted, WSS is a huge disappointment. I blame the director and producers for their poor casting choices, specifically Maria (lovely voice, but belonged more in South Pacific than a passionate hispanic love story), interpretation ... read more (a child singing the emotionally heated Somewhere? Please. You idiots deprived me of one of the most moving moments in American musical theater) and direction (The Jets opening number. Did the director ever ask these kids to wake up and put a little energy into their roles? I swear, I have seen more enthusiastic high school productions of this number. Riff... you're a street thug in the 50's....not a whispering chinese woman in Flower Drum Song). Sorry, I know a tremendous amount of effort goes into these productions. But I'm out $187 for one seat. And I want it back. |
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| 3 |
Review by: Geminny17, Dec 27, 2010 |
| I am reading the other reviews and am taken aback. I saw this show on December 22nd and was blown away. I thought the modernization was very effective and although I don't speak Spanish, you didn't need to to understand the emotion and meaning during those parts. I am an avid Broadway goer and have been disappointed lately by many productions, but this renewed my faith in the Broadway musical. I know it is closing but glad I saw it before it ... read more leaves. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
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| 4 |
no wonder it's closing Review by: lili, Dec 23, 2010 |
| I love West Side Story but this production was terrible. The current Maria has a horrible voice and the Tony is only ok, though he was a good actor. The dancing is amazing, but it's such a pity to take one of the greatest musical theatre scores ever written and not cast singers in the singing roles! I've heard better voices in high school productions. |
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| 5 |
Left the show at intermission, it was so bad! Review by: jack, Dec 15, 2010 |
| Soooooo bad. By far the worst Broadway show I have ever seen. I saw this with 7 other people and we all left at intermission, we couldn't take it anymore. The whole cast was terrible singers. It was like a High school performance. The movie is better and a lot cheaper to watch. Save your money!!! |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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Large Group
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Recommended for:
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| 6 |
Review by: yankeegirl, Nov 28, 2010 |
| Saw West Side Story yesterday afternoon, 11/27/10. Was extremely disappointed. Saw the show many years ago, watched the movie and was so looking forward to seeing it again. However, the present show in no way resembled the original show nor movie. First of all, this is America and our first language is I believe "English". I purchased tickets at the cost of $129.00 per ticket and was unable to understand half of the dialogue as it was in Spanish.... read more. Had I known that, I would never have purchased tickets. The voices of the leads left much to be desired. The woman who played Maria showed NO emotion. Tony's voice was nasally. The only person I thought had any voice at all was the woman that played Anita. I am sorry I ever went to see this show. I am truly angry that I was unable to understand half of the dialogue as it was in Spanish and wasn't advised of this so I was able to make the choice to "throw out" my money. In this economy, the public should be made aware if the language is not in English. As the saying goes, "if it's not broke, don't fix it". I wish I could get my money back. I can understand why this show is only running through Jan 2, 2011. |
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| 7 |
Keep it Simple and Original! Review by: KK, Nov 26, 2010 |
| Saw the show this evening, 11/26/2010, and I would have to agree with many of the previous reviews posted. The male actors did not portray much of the believable emotion that I had expected, especially during the "cool' scene that could have easily been a show-stopper. Riff was very flat. Maria did fine, but didn't have much emotion from the other actors to work off of. Tony was fair, and would have been much better if I was able to hear him. ... read more The singing audio was just unbelievably poor and was drowned out by the orchestra. The scattered and inconsistent use of Spanish during the show was very clumsy and detracted from many key points of the story by excluding the non Spanish speaking audience members. The creative use of the heaven (?) scene was a total flop. The song "Somewhere" should have been sung by Maria or Maria/Tony. The kid was a total disconnect. "I Feel Pretty" song went well, but the excessive clowning around ruined it. Show was cheapened by excessive use of pelvic thrusts by male actors. Anita was the best in the show tonight and the Gym scene was superb. The show lacked emotion, surprise, and any degree of fluidity. This is the kind of show that should have the audience jumping out of their seats. It doesn't happen!! |
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My recommendation:
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| 8 |
GREAT SHOW WONDERFUL ACTING DANCING AND VOICES Review by: TONY, Nov 16, 2010 |
l saw the show on 11/14/10.The dancing was great and Maria blew me away with voice and acting. Perfect casting for the part.Loved it.
going again in DEC. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| 9 |
BIG DISSAPPOINTMENT!!! Review by: Dee Dee, Nov 8, 2010 |
| Was completely dissapointed!! I wish I'd read the reviews first. Took my dad for his birthday since this is one of his favorite movies. In fact we were expecting to see a live version of the movie. What we got was 2 painful hours of terrible acting, you couldn't understand what people were singing because the music was so loud, and Maria was just awful. She's supposed to be such an integral part of the show, but she had no charm and ... read more came across as whiny and annoying. Also the Spanish lyrics just didn't work. There was nothing wrong with the original, there was no need to change it. Definitely not a family play. Paid over $100 for each ticket, and wanted desperately to get a refund. |
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My recommendation:
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| 10 |
"West Side Story", If it ain’t broke don’t fix it Review by: Peter_Bath_England, Jul 18, 2010 |
"West Side Story", If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
We all love Leonard Bernstein's Masterpiece and simply adore Stephen Sondheim's "English" Lyrics, so why did someone come along and tamper with the lyrics of the current Broadway Production of "West Side Story" ..... Was it some Wiseguy, or should I say "Wise-person", uttering "Hey Lets sing some of those songs in Spanish". As with all translations it looses its edge. Just ... read more like those old Italian Operas when translated from Italian to English. I'm a purist and just adore listening to the music and hearing the English dialogue of one of the 20th Centuries Greatest Musicals. I last saw "WSS" at the Palace Theatre, NYC, November 2009, within months of having seen the 50th Anniversary International Production at Sadlers Wells Theatre London; the latter production being simply magnificent with a cast which included wonderful performers from the US and elsewhere. I certainly not going to dismiss the current Broadway Production; it's too dear to my heart, so go along and see the show, but I would just like to say....please, please don't translate it again and certainly not in NYC the ethnic home of "WSS". Statistics; The first London production of "WSS" in 1958 ran for 1039 performances at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, thus outstripping the 734 performance's at the Winter Gardens Theatre, NYC, in 1957. My first experience was seeing the film, but I've since seen countless stage productions, which is my preference. Peter, City of Bath, England |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| 11 |
It didn't work. Review by: frabby, Jul 15, 2010 |
After nearly a year and a half on Broadway, I thought I'd check this revival. It was a mistake, I never realized how ridiculous this story is until seeing this production.
We're supposed to believe a couple meet, fall in love immediately and by the second day of their relationship one of them is killed. I didn't buy it for a minute.
The dancing is good, and I enjoyed two of the songs, but that was all.
The actors had no ... read more charisma and the production was like that of a high school.
Also whoever decided to have scenes and songs in Spanish, should not be allowed to work on Broadway again. It didn't work. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 12 |
Surprise Revival Review by: Anthony, Jul 12, 2010 |
| I saw the original West Side Story on Broadway about 30 years ago and we enjoyed it very much.I rarely write reviews, but this revival show was so disappionting that I feel the need to warn others. Going to broadway shows and muscials is a passion of mine and I can honestly say I have never gone to a show and regretted it - until now.I recommend Jersey Boys, American Idiot, Fela, South Pacific, Lion King and the endless Phantom. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Family
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| 13 |
wonderful score,tired cast. poor acoustics Review by: Colonel John, May 9, 2010 |
| saw show saturday april 9. We had front row mezzanine tickets. We could not clearly hear the actors sing(we are both not elderly or deaf). Music often overpowered singing. Volume of singing to low. Are speakers to blame? Cast seemed tired. They took one quick curtain call and left stage. We have never seen anything like this on Broadway before. We were very disappointed in production. Songs themselves incredible. inc |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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| 14 |
Review by: broadway4nh, May 5, 2010 |
| Went to matinee 4/24. It was just OK. Something seemed missing. I do agree with others who said that the Spanish lyrics were too much. We had seen Promises Promises the day before and thought West Side Story just didn't compare . . . there are so many shows on Broadway . . . I'd recommend you see something else . . . |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Family
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| 15 |
So excited..........then so disappointed.......... Review by: LfromOhio, Apr 18, 2010 |
I have not looked forward to anything as much as I was looking forward to seeing West Side Story on Broadway on April 16, 2010. I am an avid theatre goer, Toronto, NY, Chicago....
I now the show, I now theatre, 5th row orchestra! Let the games begin......
Music, scene one..... Is anyone home?
The score alone should have blown me away, but it never did. Riff? Was he on valium? Barely moved, no pent up anger, hostility, energy.... read more.
The dance at the gym, his little dynamo girlfriend, dancer Jessica Bishop, came out with tons of energy, dancing her heart out, and amazingly I might add. I thought this might give John Arthur Greene a shot of adreniline, but again, nothing. Matthew Hydzik's voice was beautiful and he played Tony well, again a little low key for my taste. Josefina Scaglione as Maria........ well her pitch is dead on, but her thin reedy voice was not pleasant to listen to.
The score and words are what make West Side Story a classic. I understand the multiculture trend, but please don't take away the unbelievable beauty of Steven Sondheim's words by singing in spanish. That is like watching the Music Man and the clever ditty, "T that rhymes with P and stands for pool" in spanish would make no sense. Same here.
It goes without saying, and obviously Broadway recognizes that this show would be nothing without Karen Olivo's energy. She is the only one who appears to not be in a high school musical, standing stiffly on the stage watching the orchestra director.
She was amazing, and I felt bad that only one performer seemed to care enough to pour everything into their role.
This show should be pent up raging anger and energy, it is seething, hot and sultry, bringing everything pent up to a climax at the rumble.
Unfortunately, this energy came across more like a bunch of bored lazy kids hanging on the street.
Highlights were Wes Hart as Action, Sara Dobbs as Anybodys, Kyle Cofman as A-rab and George Akram as Bernardo. Actually I'd like to see Kyle Cofman or Wes Hart, take a try at playing Riff.
Glad I saw it, but the highlight of the evening for everyone in the audience seemed to be the fact that the lead singer of Green Day was in the 7th row. Comeon and rev things up before it's too late! |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| Acting: |
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Adults
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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