Comments on: West Side Story

By: A C Baird

A C Baird — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:52:26 +0000

Hello

Some mixed views. Coreography was magniricant — high energy and excellent timing with the music.

Did not understand the “inttroduction” of Tony and Maria to each other. Relationship happened Too fast — unrealistic to me. It seemed the instant they first saw each other, they began to make love without any hesitation or concern about gang rivalry.

Anita was perfect for the role. Tony could have used some more “umph” into his role — did not sense any passion.

Who was the little boy at the end who sung the most meaningful piece of music. Did his parents give $$ so that their son could attempt (he needs practice) to be a star??

Thanks for ALL of your hard work, Joel!!! You are a star!!

By: Maria

Maria — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:30:32 +0000

I agree with most comments about Matt Cavenaugh. His voice is okay, but he bored me on stage. Whenever he appeared, I lost interest, and that’s unfortunate as I really wanted to LOVE the show.

The choreography/dance execution, in my opinion, was the real star of the show. Josefina was also a highlight. I thought Karen Olivio had a fantastic voice and a great attitude as a Anita, but she was too much “In the Heights,” and her dancing was a bit sloppy (think Jennifer Lopez as a Fly Girl).

By: Paul Mendenhall

Paul Mendenhall — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:14:34 +0000

How seriously am I supposed to take a critic who refers to “today’s Miami Vice?” And who thinks “Gee, Officer Krupke” is sung by the Sharks?

By: David

David — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:34:28 +0000

In some ways, it’s too bad that Josefina is sensational as Maria. She outshines all the other cast members either in a very large (Tony) or slightly (Anita) way. I also agree that Matt Cavenaugh is just not suited for his role as Tony. The match isn’t believable and he can’t keep up with her, except in the pulchritude department. I also found the female cast members having a lot more emotional depth than any of the males — all the adult males seemed rather flat. The beautiful orchestrations, excellent sound system, inspired sets and magical ballet don’t entirely compensate for some weak casting, halting pacing, and the aforementioned inability for anyone to be as pretty as Maria. Finally, I found the mixed use of Spanish to be a mixed blessing and would have preferred the lyrics and book be true to the original.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:12:07 +0000

I saw the show on Dec 17th and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only, slightly negative comment is that I don’t believe Matt Cavenaugh was right for the part of Tony. I think he’s an excellent performer (both as a singer and actor) and thought he did a very good job in the NYC production of Grey Gardens as Joe Kennedy but I think he just does an “ok” job as Tony. I hope this show is a success in NYC. NYC certainly needs a successful play about now.