S and I went to see West Side Story at the Stratford festival last weekend. This was a Christmas gift from my sisters and their respective bfs. WSS is easily in my top five movies of all time and will always provoke some strange looks from my friends when I bring it up. But I watched it so many times as kid that my love for the film is ingrained in my bones. You could say its almost like my Goonies. (A film that I firmly believe can only truly be liked if you watched it as a child – which I didn’t)
Anyway, there’s not a lot for me to say about the play. The energy was up, the acting was solid and even though it was still in previews the whole play felt polished, but not overly so. Which is a good thing. You can’t watch a Romeo and Juliet rip off with frantic streetwise dance fighting and want to see a performance that’s too controlled. I think the play is more about the energy and the heart than just getting everything just right.
The thing about WSS is that when it was first preformed it was a contemporary take on a classic play. But for the most part that slant is now solidified in amber, stuck firmly in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I’d love to see a modern look at the play using backdrops and costuming from the 21st century. What would that WSS look like?
Chilina Kennedy as Maria and Paul Nolan as Tony were spot on delivering heartfelt soulful performances. And even though I freely admit I’m overly wedded to the film version of the musical it was nice to see that the play paid homage to the film but wasn’t afraid to own the space and make it their own thing. A satisfying mix of comfortable old favourites and new thinking.
My biggest complaint is that the use of the thrust stage meant that sometimes the action was blocked by other actors. On a couple occasions something ‘big’ was happening on the far side of the stage but I couldn’t see it because the chorus\dancers were filling the space in between. It only happened for mere moments, but it was jarring enough to take me out of the play whenever it occurred.
Anyway if that’s my biggest beef, I’d say you’re sitting pretty.
Anyway, there’s not a lot for me to say about the play. The energy was up, the acting was solid and even though it was still in previews the whole play felt polished, but not overly so. Which is a good thing. You can’t watch a Romeo and Juliet rip off with frantic streetwise dance fighting and want to see a performance that’s too controlled. I think the play is more about the energy and the heart than just getting everything just right.
The thing about WSS is that when it was first preformed it was a contemporary take on a classic play. But for the most part that slant is now solidified in amber, stuck firmly in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I’d love to see a modern look at the play using backdrops and costuming from the 21st century. What would that WSS look like?
Chilina Kennedy as Maria and Paul Nolan as Tony were spot on delivering heartfelt soulful performances. And even though I freely admit I’m overly wedded to the film version of the musical it was nice to see that the play paid homage to the film but wasn’t afraid to own the space and make it their own thing. A satisfying mix of comfortable old favourites and new thinking.
My biggest complaint is that the use of the thrust stage meant that sometimes the action was blocked by other actors. On a couple occasions something ‘big’ was happening on the far side of the stage but I couldn’t see it because the chorus\dancers were filling the space in between. It only happened for mere moments, but it was jarring enough to take me out of the play whenever it occurred.
Anyway if that’s my biggest beef, I’d say you’re sitting pretty.
