Evolving at the Speed of Life

West Side Story: A Disappointment in 2 Acts

 I am a die hard fan of classic Broadway musicals.  Last year I saw South Pacific at Lincoln Center,  and from the first note played by the orchestra I was transported.  The staging, the casting, the costumes...all in flawless tribute to an American classic.

When I heard West Side Story was coming back to Broadway I ordered tickets immediately.  In fact, to insure the best possible seats I bought premium tickets.  I was in the sixth row on the aisle with an unobstructed view of the stage.  I settled into my seat and realized that Arthur Laurents was sitting right behind me.  In the seat directly behind me.  This man wrote West Side Story in the 1950s.  He is responsible for Gypsy, The Way We Were.   It was a thrill to meet him.   In fact, I had seen a piece on him that ran on CBS Sunday Morning.  He was talking about his career and his passion for this project.  They shot film of him addressing the cast of this production, telling them that this is a story about sex, passion, heat.  For me, this was surely the most anticipated production of the theater season.

The curtain went up and there were Riff and the boys.  That opening number....When you're a jet you're a jet all the way... And with that I turned to my friend and said "Uh oh", which was the last thing we could say until Mr. Laurents got up at intermission.

To be fair, Karen Olivo as Anita was spectacular.  She did Rita Moreno proud.  (Speaking of which, when every talk show appearance for the show is Anita's big number, you know there's a problem.)  And Josefina Scaglione, an Argentine native who landed the role of Maria after she was spotted on a YouTube video, is tremendously talented.  I'll even give props to Matthew Cavenaugh as Tony.  Beyond that, this was like a summer stock production in Provincetown.  To loosely quote a friend, "Tony and Riff reminded me of the two guys from Will and Grace."

Recommendation?  Pass.  Rent the movie.

Kid Friendly Fare: The Gazillion Bubble Show

Last month my niece and nephew, Sophie and Brenner, turned 4.  This past Sunday I took them to see The Gazillion Bubble Show for their birthday, along with my sister and brother-in-law. 

I first heard about the show when I went to see another play at the The New World Stages on West 50th Street, an off-Broadway multiplex.  All the kids coming out of the theater were laughing and jumping around.  They seemed to love it, so I got the tickets. 

Other than The Moscow Cat Circus (another lovely theater experience) this was quite possibly the most painful thing I've had to witness.  We were in the first row, of course, and this guy was blowing bubbles in different colors and shapes and prodding us to laugh, clap, dance, whateva!  Sophie and Brenner enjoyed it, but pretty soon it became clear to the adults that this was not what any of us expected. 

There were bubbles.  Lots of them.  They were pretty.  Only two segments actually had a "gazillion" bubbles, so I felt a little misled.  And given the junk they sell at Toys R Us these days I'm not so impressed by the size of the big bubbles because I can do that with a funky hoola hoop.

My real issue is the actual "story" behind the show.  Threaded throughout the show was a film noir about this bubble guy's life in Yugoslavia and his family living in Hawaii (not sure how they made THAT transition).  Now...considering that this show is for the under 6 set, my question would have to be...So what?  I can promise you that my niece and nephew didn't care.  And while it was sort of okay for him to share with the audience, the acoustics were awful, his accent was hard to understand and, quite honestly, I was so busy keeping bubbles off my freshly washed hair I wasn't really listening.

The kids really liked it, and it was only about 1 hour and 20 minutes long, so I did what I set out to do.  Specifically, take them to a fun thing for their birthday.  For me the best part was the cheeseburger at Vinyl after it was over.  My problem now is that my older niece, Rebecca, wants to see it.  I may have to tell her it closed.