First, I want to thank all of you out there who submitted your suggestions for what shows I should see in New York over the weekend. As you may know, I went down to see Hair in Central Park, and had a few extra show slots. On Friday night, I wound up seeing Gypsy again, and then on Saturday afternoon I took in my first professional production of The Fantasticks. I'll be posting my reviews of all three shows over the next few days. (In short: loved it, loved it, loved it. When does that ever happen?)
So, anyway, on with the news. The producers of the upcoming Broadway revival of West Side Story have announced that the show will begin previews at a TBD Nederlander theater (perhaps the Nederlander Theater itself?) on February 23rd towards a March 19th opening date. The show will play an out-of-town tryout at the National Theater in Washington, DC in December and January.
Librettist Arthur Laurents will direct, and has previously made much hay about the fact that he intends to give the show more verisimilitude, including making the kids more realistically bloodthirsty, and the central lovers Maria and Tony more sexually driven. He also plans to weave Spanish throughout more of the dialog and lyrics. (Presumably with lyricist Stephen Sondheim's blessing?)
No word yet on any casting, nor on when the tickets will go on sale. I'll keep you posted. I know I'm ready to see a first-rate revival of this landmark show. And after seeing Laurents' Gypsy again last Friday, I'm confident that, despite his age (he just turned 91), he's certainly up for the job. But theater has a weird, ineffable sort of alchemy, and there are never any guarantees. Let's hope Laurents and his creative staff can work some magic on this highly anticipated production.
Glad you enjoyed NY, im going to see Patti Saturday and im so excited!! My first time seeing Patti!
Posted by: Justin | August 11, 2008 at 11:31 PM
The Nederlander certainly doesn't have the room for what is to be a massive production with a cast of 30 + and and orchestra of 30. Plus, it's doubtful that the post-Rent overhaul of the theater will be done by February. I'm looking quite forward to seeing the massive West Side Story marquee in the middle of Times Square when West Side takes the Palace. After Labor Day, Legally Blonde is not long for this world.
Posted by: Jason Modica | August 12, 2008 at 03:26 PM
Jason: Unless you know something that I don't, I would be surprised if Legally Blonde were in danger of closing. It's been playing to 90%+ capacity and the grosses have been around $880k each week. Perhaps when the li'l chillin' who populate the Palace go back to school, things will slow down a bit. But grosses for the show have been climbing steadily since April, which makes it unlikely that the show's going to close any time soon.
I could be wrong. It's happened before.
Posted by: chris caggiano | August 14, 2008 at 01:56 PM
I saw Patti on Thursday night, the 14th. She was still unforgettable.
Posted by: Joseph | August 18, 2008 at 11:29 PM