Holy understudies!

Trish and I were slightly shocked walking into the Palace Theatre last night to see the cast board list BOTH Tony AND Maria out of that evening’s performance. Luckily, both standbys were on rather than understudies, so at least the rest of the cast was intact. I’m sure Trish would have stormed the box office demanding a refund had her Equity boyfriend, Curtis Holbrook, been out as well. We couldn’t help but laugh, considering I purchased the tickets on a whim four hours before the performance. Supposedly sold out for the rest of the week, I checked online to see if there were any newly released tickets. Sure enough, two center, first row, front mezzanine seats materialized. Crediting good birthday karma (Happy 39th Birthday to me!), I snatched them up certain this was God’s personal gift to me. I guess this was his way of telling me that nothing good in life comes that easy.

I don’t want to seem ungrateful to those hard-working actors, but how can you not be slightly disappointed when not just one, but both lead actors are out of a show? And the lead couple, no less? I do give props to both Matthew Hydzik (on for Matt Cavanaugh’s Tony) and Haley Carlucci (on for Josefina Scaglione’s Maria) who were solid and for the most part confident in the roles. Both have strong acting chops and were vocally adequate, but were definitely missing some much needed chemistry. I can’t really blame them. How can you be “in the moment” when you’re probably thinking, “Is my next quick change on stage left or stage right?” There were a couple of “deer-in-headlight” moments - notably in the park-and-bark sections of "Tonight" and "One Hand, One Heart" - but these seemed to be a directorial choice. And I’m sure he was directed this way, but Hydzik seemed way too wide-eyed and “clean” to pass for a former rough-and-tumble gang member. I mean, my mom could probably beat the sh*t out of Tony as played last night by Hydzik. And I know it was lifted from the movie, but would a gang member, even a very stylish one, be caught wandering the barrio in a shiny purple suit? I mean, I own a red velvet sport jacket that’s less gay than that purple suit…which leads to may next minor quibble.

I know the thrilling Jerome Robbins choreography demands dancers of impeccable technique and virtuosity, but the buffed out Chelsea-boy type doesn’t necessarily convey rough and world weary. It wasn’t that these boys seemed necessarily pretty or clean cut, but as Trish pointed out, they seemed “soft” - like an all Upper East Side prep school gang - not very intimidating. I’d have to note Curtis Holbrook as an exception. Though it’s written into his character, Holbrook was most successful in portraying the pent up rage that could make an audience believe he’d resort to murder.

All the controversy of the added Spanish text and the translation of some of the song lyrics is much ado about nothing. Though at times the revisions did heighten the audience’s understanding of the cultural barriers intrinsic to the plot, they didn’t really prove revelatory in any way. They were harmless, but in the end, un-needed and maybe a bit gimmicky. As a regular opera attendee, I don’t agree that language necessarily adds cultural resonance to a work. If an opera composer was Italian, his opera was in Italian regardless of where it takes place or the ethnicity of the characters. I guess what I’m really saying is, “If it ain’t broke, don't fix it.”

Karen Olivo, having to distinguish herself from two iconic portrayals (by Chita and Rita), creates a more earthy and sexual Anita than her predecessors. People were complaining that her dancing was “lacking.” But as a full package, I think she’s pretty amazing. She’s so strong (and tall) that I was convinced she could easily whoop some of those pansy-ass Jets in the closing rape scene. And relevant to nothing, she's part Asian! (Puerto Rican, Dominican and Chinese - you better work, sister!)

But in the end, the incredible Bernstein score and the Robbins choreography elevated the show above all of my complaints. Is there any show written or produced in the last ten years that even comes close to it in quality and scope? I don’t think so. I guess with the continued commercialization of Broadway, the hope of seeing another West Side Story in our time seems kinda’ doubtful, but I’m still hoping.

On a side note - plenty of "celeb" sightings this evening: Camryn Mannheim eating dinner two tables down from us at the Edison, Cody Green walking down Broadway next to Trish and Aaron Tveit riding the N train after the show with us.

Who we didn't see last night in West Side Story, Josefina Scaglione and Matt Cavanaugh