Well, dear readers, those who’ve read Kritzer Time know my long history with the musical entitled West Side Story. Prior to seeing the motion picture, I do believe I’d heard at least some of the Broadway cast album, but maybe not – maybe I’d just heard some of the cover versions of the songs. But seeing that film was life changing for me. I’d never seen anything like it – the 70mm of it, the sound of it, the choreography of it, the performances, the direction – my senses were alive and tingling and I went back every Saturday for fourteen weeks in a row. I went alone, I went with friends, I danced around my house doing the Prologue and The Rumble and the Dance at the Gym – I did Gee, Officer Krupke with my friend for a talent assembly in junior high school. I even bought a switchblade, which, if you can believe it, I brought to school with me and which no one said boo about. I sang the songs. I bought black jeans and wore T-shirts, which I’d never done. Not too long after, I took dance lessons from a well-known jazz teacher called Roland Dupree on Third Street near Crescent Heights. I was hopeless, he knew I was hopeless, but he was a good egg and patient. Later, he went off to do some job and the classes were taken over by Mr. David Winters – the original Broadway Baby John and A-Rab in the film. I couldn’t believe it – I was taking dance class from David Winters. He wasn’t quite as patient as Mr. Dupree, I have to say, but later we would laugh about it a lot when I did my Donny and Marie guest shots, since he had to choreograph me. I reminded him of my long ago stint in his class. And a year later, he wooed me to be in his film Racquet, the only job I ever turned down – and multiple times, too – but finally we just asked for the moon and I was quite surprised when they gave it to me.
Also, about eight months after the film premiered, they did the stage version at the Moulin Rouge no Sunset Blvd. (it became the Aquarius Theater and is now the Nickelodeon Studios). Of course I went (twice). It starred Carla Alberghetti (sister of Anna Maria), and Miss Chita Rivera recreated her original role of Anita, I believe it was staged by Tony Mordente (her husband at that time and the original Action – I think he may have played Riff in this production), Larry Kert did his original role of Tony, and the dancers were mostly from the film. It was weird seeing it on stage – not quite the visceral thrill of the film, with its dynamic editing and camerawork. The sets were cheesy and flimsy, but oh that dancing. The choreography was a bit different, but those dancers were amazing. Over the years, I saw the film repeatedly whenever it played. I owned it on VHS, laserdisc, DVD (twice) and now Blu and Ray. I can never get enough of it, but oddly, until the Arthur Laurents revival of several years ago, I’d only seen that one stage production. The less said about the Laurents revival, the better – it was, simply put, one of the most wretched afternoons I’ve ever spent in a theater. Mr. Laurents basically ruined his own show – Jerome Robbins he wasn’t and he disrespected Mr. Robbins’s choreography and added unnecessary Spanish lyrics and it was just awful – and that’s what is touring (non-Equity, I believe) around the country now. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.
All that by way of saying that I attended a high school production of West Side Story yesterday afternoon at Calabasas High School. One knows going in what one is going to get at most high school productions of musicals – you’ll get a high school performance where every move, gesture, line, and song get screaming American Idol-like reaction from the friends and family in the audience – that’s always, for me, the worst part. But I’ve seen a lot of high school productions and even if they’re terrible there is something that is very moving to me to see kids committing to something, seeing it through, and giving it their all – and frankly, the worst of them can be laid at the feet of bad directors rather than the kids.
Calabasas High has a new performing arts theater that is spectacular – seating about seven hundred, and quite beautiful. I was very nervous about the full orchestra being a student one and I was very nervous about any high school taking on a complex and adult show like West Side Story. So, here’s the caveat: It’s a high school show. And that’s the only caveat that’s needed because these kids were so committed and there and they DID the show. Are they ready for Broadway? Of course not and who cares? First of all, any nervousness about the orchestra went away with the very first notes of the Prologue – this student orchestra was rather incredible. Leonard Bernstein did not write easy music but they played it beautifully. The show was directed well, but the more amazing thing was these kids did the original choreography. Yes, you heard it here, they did the original choreography – ALL of it, including the Somewhere ballet, which was a huge and awful joke in the Laurents revival (almost all of it cut). I would imagine that few of these kids had ever danced before, but there they were doing the Robbins choreography. No, they were not trained and brilliant dancers, but I was there with them every step of the way because they were serious about it. The score would also tax the best of singers, but these kids did their best and what else could you ever ask for. There was not one embarrassing moment on that stage, not one “high school” moment. In fact, it was a lot more emotionally involving than Mr. Laurents’s revival. The lighting and sets worked fine and the costumes were also excellent.
And the director did a very clever and smart thing in his little talk before the show. He welcomed everyone and said they’d start West Side Story in a moment – and he got just what you’d expect – that awful hooting and hollering and screaming from the audience. He smiled and then said, “I’m glad you got that out of your system – now you can just sit back and enjoy the show.” And they did. Sure they gave a wonderful reaction to the numbers, but it wasn’t that crazy, awful crap that one finds in every Broadway show now. They were respectful and the show was better for it. The only nitpick I had for the entire afternoon was the sound – they just need to spend a couple of weeks tweaking it and getting the blends and balances right – it’s a new venue and it takes time to get that stuff right.
I went with the Staitman clan – Sami and Sarah weren’t in the show, but were in the booth working the spotlights. And amusingly, guess who was also in the audience? Our very own Mr. Donald Feltham, who, I think, knew the person who did the sets. For me, a very pleasing and satisfying afternoon and many, many kudos to the director, the two folks who recreated the choreography, and everyone involved – cast, backstage crew, sound people, and tech people – they should all be very proud of what they did.
Prior to that, she of the Evil Eye had arrived at eight. I did a three-mile jog, went and bought some new running shoes, since mine are falling apart, and then came back home and did a little work on the computer before leaving for the show. After the show, the Staitman clan and I had dinner at a really good little jernt near the school. I have been so good for the last ten weeks, I decided I could have some pasta and I did – linguini (about five ounces) with blackened chicken in a light pink sauce (a dollop of cream – the waitress promised me it was JUST a dollop – mixed with marinara sauce). We all shared a Caesar salad, but I didn’t eat all that much of it, and I had no bread at all. So, even though it was more calories at one time, I still don’t think that with the jog I was over 1200. And boy was it good. Then I came home, answered e-mails, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching a motion picture entitled The Song of Bernadette. Actually, there was no song in The Song of Bernadette. I kept waiting for a little Bernadette ditty that never arrived. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the film – it’s really good, and Jennifer Jones earned a well-deserved Oscar for her luminous performance. She really is brilliant and makes the audience a believer. The rest of the cast is superb – Vincent Price playing a completely despicable creep, Charles Bickford, Anne Revere, Gladys Cooper (who should have won a supporting Oscar), and many others. It’s a long film, but it moves along, is beautifully photographed and features one of Alfred Newman’s most exquisite scores. The Blu and Ray from Twilight Time is excellent. The element used for the transfer isn’t pristine, but even so the photography shines though, there’s nice detail throughout, and the sound is great. This is highly recommended by the likes of me – they don’t make ’em like this anymore and one only wishes they did.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep – allergies were very bad last night, so I’m just ready to sleep and wake up sans allergies.
Today, I shall do a jog, I shall start writing the contextual commentary for the next Kritzerland show, and then I’m seeing Doug Haverty and Adryan Russ’s musical Inside Out – a concert reading of it followed by a dinner of some sort.
Tomorrow, I see Dr. Chew, I may or may not have a late lunch meeting, but mostly I’ll be finishing the contextual commentary and beginning some more liner notes. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, including a meeting with the tech fellow who’ll be working with us on the new and improved haineshisway.com website. Also hoping to see the final galley of the new book, I’ll be choosing the gal who will be reading the audio versions of the Hofstetter books, I’ll also have a work session with the musical director on Thursday – so, a very busy week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, write, and then see a show and have some kind of dinner thing after. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall be dancing the Prologue and the Dance at the Gym, the original choreography as performed by an old Jew.