West Side Story Reviews

Richard A. Barnes from Randolph, Massachusetts

PLEASE CHANGE OR EXPLAIN TO ME THE "NEW" ENDING.

In a review by Jody Feinberg in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of 6/9/11 it states regards the new ending "a single Shark brings Maria her shawl." I believe that ending to be oh so wrong as Maria is the dead Bernardo's sister, so to my way of thinking a Shark is bringing a shawl to a Shark. Where is the togetherness of both the Jets and the Sharks being, finally at the end, together? With a Shark bringing Maria the shawl and no Jet apparently involved there is no apparent togetherness as shown in the film or former plays. If the review was erroneous in this matter so be it. But, as for me, I would rather see the Sharks and Jets do something TOGETHER regards the deceased Tony. That is the way it has been since the start and the way that it should remain. My 5 star rating is a result of my seeing the movie so many times and hoping to be able to see the play at the Colonial Theater in Boston.

TheatreManiaMan from Sacramento

OUTSTANDING AND TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL

I am confused by all of these uneducated opinions I am reading on this site from others who saw the show. The show is VERY true to the original in so many aspects. The choreography is practically the exact same as it was when the show opened at the Winter Garden theatre in NYC in the 50's. The outstanding performers kept the amazingly difficult show going with fantastic pace and precision of choreography and vocals alike. The crudeness was not added. Originally, Anita was beginning to be raped when Doc enters the room. Most people have seen the film and that is what they remember. The film is different and songs are in different places and sung by other characters. The ONLY changes in this production are the addition of Spanish in less than 5% of the show, which adds to the racial tension of the piece, and that Anybodys sings Somewhere, which results in a heart-breaking new moment in the show. The show is OUTSTANDING and please don't miss it! Thrilled this amazing show is here!

Jeanah from Los Angeles, California

IS THIS PLAY APPROPRIATE FOR A SECOND GRADER?

My daughter has just turned 8. She is excited to see the play, but a friend tells me there is a suggestive rape scene in it? Also gratuitous sex scenes? Has anyone taken their kids to this and what do they think. Thanks!

CJ Bellam from Richmond, Virginia

INCREDIBLE

I just needed to speak on behalf of WEST SIDE STORY. I was thrilled and it was perfect. The singing and dancing was beyond what I expected. I was fortunate to fall into a ticket and am so very happy. Just like the movie. Congratulations to the entire cast on a wonderful performance.

George McGuire from Vancouver, British Columbia

BETTER THAN THE MOVIE.

I just returned from a Vancouver matinee performance (Feb. 9/2014) of West Side Story. I have always loved this story, the movie, vocals and the superb music. I rate this live performance better than the movie. Everything was just perfect: I salute the dancers, the singers, and the orchestra. I rate this performance as one best live shows I have ever attended and this include many shows in London and New York. I can find no fault with this production. If the performers read this review I say well done. George McGuire

Sonia davis from Los Angeles, California

MUST SEE

Saw the play in Riverside March 2014 . You know it's good when youre still talking about it the next day. Too bad Bernardo played by Micheal Spencer Smith is killed so early in the play. I would have loved to see more of him.

J. H. Borg from Toronto

SHARK VERSUS JET

With regard to the review that states that at the end a Shark brings Maria her shawl at the very end; in the version I saw in Toronta last week it's the youngest Jet that brings Maria her shawl and puts it over her head as a gesture of conciliation.

Kelly from Chicago

EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED

I saw this production last night in Chicago and was thrilled. West Side Story is my all time favorite movie and musical, so I know it by heart and was looking forward to seeing it performed on stage for the first time. It wasn't perfect by any means, but the strength of the story and the score are pretty hard to screw up. With the exception of Tony, I thought everyone was very compelling. Anita and Bernardo (who was smoking hot) stole the show for me, and the vocals & choreography were almost flawless. One confusing aspect was the placement of the Officer Krupke and Cool numbers. Since my only experience with the story is the film, I didnt know which one was following the true script. Officer Krupke seems too lighthearted and comical a number for the Jets to be singing right after losing Riff, and Cool was moved to the scene before the war council with the Sharks, not as emotionally charged as the movie version following Riff's death. Overall, I highly recommend it regardless.

Anonymous from Albuquerque, New Mexico

LOVED IT!

Really enjoyed it - must see

ORPHEUM AND WEST SIDE STORY FAN from Phoenix, Arizona

OFFICER KRUPKE SEGMENT DETRACTED FROM 5 STAR PERFORMANCE

ENJOYED THE PLAY AND THE MUSIC IN PHX PERFORMANCE, BUT MUST AGREE THAT "OFFICER KRUPKE' SEGMENT ADDED UNNECESSARY GESTURES WHICH DISTRACTED FROM THE DANCE ROUTINE AND THE PLAY IN GENERAL. THE PERFORMANCE AS A WHOLE WAS VERY GOOD... ACTOR WHO PLAYED TONY HAD BEAUTIFUL VOICE AND ACTING BY EVERYONE WAS STAR QUALITY. ORCHESTRA DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB ALSO. JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO ADD ANY VULGARITY, HOWEVER MINOR, AS A FORM OF UPDATING A CLASSIC.

JWNH from Boston

NOT AS BAD AS OTHERS SAY

I saw WSS last night at the Colonial and was not disappointed. The supporting cast and incredible dancing carried the show and made it a great overall experience. I did feel that the size of stage was slightly confining but they did a great job performing Robbins' choreography. It's tough to find performers talented enough to sing, dance and act to the level that this musical requires and while Tony was not a strong lead and I agree that the chemistry was weak creating some awkwardness with Tony and Maria, Ewoldt's voice was terrific. Aravena as Anita was fantastic. People must realize this is a period peace and so the gang members appearing to be "tough" while performing Robbins' balletic choreography requires suspended belief and imagination; as does the acceptance of the introduction of Spanish into the script...don't most people know these songs by heart anyway?? The Spanish added to the play's authenticity. Aside from weak but acceptable acting by Tony, Riff & Maria, great show!

Lardebame from Boston

MY FIRST REVIEW!

This was my third time seeing West Side Story on stage. Once a couple of years ago in Boston (my favorite), last year on Broadway, and then again last night! I have to say that this production was my least favorite. The leads were good, some beautiful notes by Maria! Anita also good. The actors playing the Jets were my least favorite, over acting and not believable. The actor playing Riff was miscast, not believable at all as the "leader". He did have a good singing voice though. The sets were boring. This version was a little different than I'd seen before. Some of that was good, some not so good. The Spanish language aspect is good, the emotion translated so that I could understand. When I saw the Broadway cast, they sang & acted much better but I felt they were just going through the motions. This cast is giving their all but not as talented. I give them an "A" for effort but think the overacting (Jets) need to tone it down a bit.

Bryan Masson from Fort Worth, Texas

WEAK ORCHESTRA KEPT "STORY" FROM SOARING

The cast was great and the show happened to have the necessary punch at the most important points to make it. In Fort Worth, it was very hard to hear the spoken word. Much of the clever dialogue was missed. Some sung text was lost as well, especially in the fun set pieces, such as "I Feel Pretty" and "Officer Krupky." "America" was almost totally lost - the most fun number. The orchestra, however, is what kept the show from being a total success. They played with zero focus. Rhythmic vitality was mostly missing. There was no edge and no rhythmic drive. You could see the cast trying to push it up a few notches to make it work. As I said, the emotion was there at the major points, but large swaths were sleepy time for me, even with all of the activity going on on the stage. My tickets were given to me and were worth $100.00. This was like high quality community theater, not Broadway and definitely not worth $100.00 a pop.

Cjbb from Detroit, Michigan

GREAT THEATER SHOW BUT PROBLEMS

West Side Story, a classic show. This is a musical with great singing and dancing. A Romeo and Juliet story. Problems: they have increased the amount of Spanish, this is the United States, this is an American play, we speak English. if it was playing in a predominantly Spanish speaking country, where few spoke English, would you add more English just to make it more relevant? We found this very irritating and it took away something from our experience as no one in our party of six spoke Spanish. I would take my mother but not children under the age of 14. While understanding the reality of living in an inner city environment, some scenes were were too sexually blatant and in bad taste for theater viewing. The rape scene was very well done and not visually explicit. Scene 2, Act 2 - "The Neighborhood" was especially heavy with sexual innuendos and inappropriate actions on the part of the male actors.

Anonymous from New Brunswick, New Jersey

POOR ENUNCIATION

My husband is a big West Side Story fan and I gave him tickets as a birthday gift. Frankly he was insulted by the vulgarity in the "Officer Krupke" song. Also, about 20 minutes into the first act we turned to each other and said we couldn't understand a word that the female actresses were saying, especially MARIA! The enunciation was horrible (we were front center mezzanine).. We just accepted it and tried to enjoy. The dance numbers, orchestra and singing were wonderful.

Mplo from Somerville, MA

BROADWAY REVIVAL OF "WEST SIDE STORY: A CRITIQUE:

As a devout fan of the film West Side Story, I attended a performance of the updated Broadway revival with my sister-in-law and my niece here in Boston, in late June of 2011. Since I've also seen several good stage versions of WSS, I looked at this Broadway revival with a more critical eye. West Side Story being West Side Story, I largely enjoyed it, but the fact that the finger-snapping, the Jet gang whistles, and the message of reconciliation in the end of the Jets and Sharks of its possibility were all taken out of this B'way revival of WSS bothered me, because these particular elements were very integral and very vital aspects of the story. The singing voice of Tony was somewhat forced, and the vibratos were too wide; one could practically skp rope through them, if one gets the drift.

Anonymous from Vancouver, British Columbia

NO CHEMISTRY

Having seen the movie many times although not for many years and adoring Natalie Wood maybe it is a harsh judgement but after crying every time the only reason I was near to tears was at having paid over $100 for the ticket. I found it overall very disappointing, the performances were not polished, there was no need for the vulgar gestures, there was no chemistry between the main characters. . I did like Maria's voice but she looked like a little girl and Tony just lacked, well, everything. Not believable . Will definitely think twice about going to see another play or musical outside of local high school performances. Could unfortunately not understand the Spanish either.

Alisson from New Brunswick, NJ

SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTING

I had an opportunity to see the Westside Story in New Brunswick, NJ today. I was accompanied by two young adolescent children and my mother. Well, while we were able to appreciate to a degree the songs we love and some, not too polished but well-intentioned choreography, excessive sexual content was disturbing. I do not remember so much adult content in the original piece. If you are planning to see it with your children, please evaluate that decision carefully. The singing of the main characters was pleasant, but overall I was left with the sense of something not quite coming together in this performance - the sense of forced movement, forced acting, forced singing at times that I never experienced when on good old Broadway, was with me pretty much through the entire performance. I most definitely had a better feeling after other theatrical experiences.

Anonymous from Denver, Colorado

WEST SIDE FALLS FLAT

Good: quality dancing, singing was on key, set was good. Bad: No charisma, poor enunciation, forgettable actors, gratuitous sex, poor sound quality (at times, the orchestra was louder than the singer; at times, the male lead was singing soundlessly), extensive dialogue in Spanish (what's the point? Authenticity? In a musical with thugs doing ballet? Fail.) The production started out with a dance number, and the first move by the leader was something out of Mr. Rogers Attempts Ballet. It was laughable in a very pathetic sort of way. It broke my suspension of disbelief and the rest of the production did nothing to get it back. Save your money.

Anonymous from Kingston, Ontario

DISAPPOINTED

The only positive comment is that the Maria and Tony characters sang beautifully? The remainder of the production lacked chemistry and cohesion. I've seen better high school production. It was not worth what we paid to see it. We will be more careful in seeing other shows at the Toronto Theatre by checking the reviews especially since we had to travel a distance to see it.

Anonymous from Naples, Florida

SECOND HALF SEXUALLY PERVERTED

I don't believe.reaching down one's pants and smelling one's smegma is in the original script.

Lisa from Grand Rapids, Michigan

WEST SIDE STORY - SO DISAPPOINTING

I went to opening night of West Side Story last night. I was so surprized to see such a beautiful story turned into such trash. It was so vulger and trashy. I was so looking forward to this play as it was a birthday present for my dad. The singing and dancing was good but they added so much vulgarity that I left with a bad taste in my mouth. I would not recommend this play to anyone. Stick to the movie!

Anonymous from Baltimore, Maryland

HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENT

Not sure why a lot of the songs were in Spanish. Male lead was stooped shouldered and weak. Save your money and go to an O's game. Overall it had a high school production quality.

Elizabeth from Denver

WEST SIDE STORY JANUARY 2012

Aweful guys, they sounded like women. Women were much better but the singing was often not great. Costumes were bad for the guys. Very disappointing. I actually like this play when done well.

CMS from Philadelphia

NOT WORTH THE TRIP

Saw this April 7, 2012 at Academy of Music. Left at intermission. Great try, but not much more than a high school musical. The orchestra was great. The singing was on key, but lackluster. The acting was marginal. Wouldn't bother.

Lyn Baldauf from Atlanta, Georgia

JUST GO FOR THE DANCING

What a disappointment. Krupke being sung AFTER the killings (which makes no sense,) lots of obscene gestures, NO OPENING OVERTURE, America sung ONLY by the women (with NO punch as a result) and a Tony who was weak both in presence and in voice. His singing is reminiscent of a frightened American Idol audition candidate. Going to go rent the movie.

Anonymous from Grand Rapids, Michigan

SO DISAPPOINTING.

West Side Story has always been one of my favorite musicals. I was so looking forward to seeing it and so disappointed in the performance. The sexual innuendo and vulgarity of the dancing gestures disgusted me. Tony's voice was beautiful but weak..The movement of the Officer Krumpkee song to after the death of Bernardo and Rift ruined the emotional build up to the ending of the play. It used to be my one of my favorite songs but now I only picture a man licking his fingers. Disgusting. The Spanish was an unwelcome surprise. Since I am not fluent in Spanish and I couldn't remember those lines, I missed them. I almost walked out and would have if I hadn't been sitting in the center front and would have disturbed many people like I was being disturbed by the play. I would have thought I could take children to the "original" version and would never dream of taking children to this version. We had seats in the fourth row center and saw everything clearly- way too clearly

Michael Anthony from Vancouver, British Columbia

POOR DIRECTION

Saw the performance feb.6 at the qe in Vancouver .... The dancing saved the show. Tony was weak and there was little chemistry between tony and Maria who was just a little too breathless. The mics on their heads were distracting...the orchestration was dull at first but picked up Ina act2. The worst aspect of the show was the directing...unlike the choreography , the direction lacked focus, tony had no business during his numbers, couldn't tell the sharks from the jets and on and on... Seemed unpolished and under rehearsed. Anita had the most pizzaz... Finally, I have seen high school musicals better than this production....this show failed , in my opinion, due to very poor direction....the dance saved the show and kept me from leaving at intermission. Sad to want to support the arts and yet leave the theatre feeling like I had just wasted $109.00 . I would hesitate to risk paying that much again...likely will not take a chance after feeling cheated by this show. Too bad.

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