West Side Story

I had my first taste of West Side Story as a 5 or 6 year old when my Ma taped a TVB special on SBS.  I didn't understand Cantonese so I had NFI what on earth they were celebrating but it involved the glitterati of 1980s Hong Kong celebs dancing and singing in unison.  The more I think about it, I realise it must've been the annual special because I definitely remember the stars singing 'Anniversary Night!!!'

One of the opening songs was 'Tonight' tinged with HK accents. Each star was filmed in their respective houses primping for 'Tonight'.  I vividly recall one of the male celebs singing in the bath because his scene was accompanied by a huge 'NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN' warning, yet here I was looking at a man covered up to his shoulders in bubbles.  There was nothing really offensive about the scene as such - no bare bottom, I don't recall a male nipple either - but maybe the concept of a grown man bathing is offensive to HK children?  Anyway, I am veering off the topic but yep, that was my first exposure to the music of West Side Story.

Over my childhood years of random TV watching I was exposed to other WSS songs and pieced together that they originated from the musical.  I have a habit of not watching movies and of course never saw the 1961 film adaptation featuring Natalie Wood.  I knew that WSS was a modern day Romeo and Juliet and especially while living in London was pretty keen on seeing it on stage.  Alas there was no long-running production at the West End, so when I heard that there was a limited run in Melbourne I decided to get me a ticket.

SuBoo had managed to watch the show a few days prior to my ticket purchase and her review was that it was .... not very good.  Oh no!  Should I still buy my ticket?  Well I did because the urge to tick it off my list was too high.  Must... complete...... tasks!!!!!

Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed with WSS.  I can't say it was 'bad' but maybe more not to my liking.  The Romeo and Juliet storyline is not a drawcard for me but it maintained my interest as I tried to work out who was the WSS-equivalent of Tybalt and Mercutio.  It was pretty easy to figure out Maria was Juliet and Tony was Romeo hehehe.  If anything, WSS reaffirmed my non-fandom of certain modern dance styles.  Latino-type dancing is ok, modern dancing sits bleah with me and I really don't like the weird inclusion of ballet-esque dancing.  Having extended dance sequences didn't help either.  I also need some razzle dazzle in my musicals and I think if there were more set changes on stage, that might have done the trick for me.

When people dance 'tough' it usually makes me laugh (with the exception of the coolness that is capoeira) and in WSS it ended up looking just pouncy.  The brightly coloured suits didn't help either.  This Scrubs video describes it perfectly!

I do have to say the two leads and the supporting actress who played Anita were all quite good.  SuBoo didn't like the trilling, operatic voice of Maria but if that's what the role calls for then I'm ok with that.  Maria also looked a bit like Katy Perry (not a good/bad thing, merely an observation).

Overall, I was a bit ho-hum about WSS.  SuBoo was a bit 'it's kinda crap' about WSS.  In that case, what is stopping WSS from disappearing into the Failed Musical Abyss?  I would say it is the key songs which include 'America', 'Somewhere' and 'Maria'.  Not everyone will think the same, but the songs do have a certain appeal to a mass audience.  I have to admit that I smiled when they sang 'Tonight'.  Hehehe and it did make me think of 1980s HK celebs dancing.  However, I quite disliked the comedic tone of 'Office Krupke' and felt it was quite inappropriate given the tragic Romeo and Julie tone.

As strong as the songs are, I personally don't think it is enough for me to watch a repeat performance whether that be in Australia, Broadway or the West End.  I'll just upload my favourite show tunes onto my iPhone instead and listen to them there.