Stage Review: West Side Story

There are a handful of musicals that I know going in that I will cry at one point (or multiple points in some cases). Fiddler on the Roof, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and West Side Story (to name a few). Therefore, when I walked into the theater to see the touring production of West Side Story last week, I knew that I would leave having shed a few tears.

I did not cry as much as I thought I would, and I think it's because they staged the ending differently than I'm used to. Yes, a main character dies (I won't say which character, in case you haven't seen the musical. And if you haven't seen the musical, I will just say, "Why?" It's a wonderful show.). However, one of the things that touches me the most and adds to the tears at the end is that members of both gangs that have been warring with each other come together to carry the body off stage. It takes the death of this character to make them realize how precious life is and it is a catalyst to possibly healing the rift between them. The culmination of all of that usually makes me bawl like a baby. Because they staged the ending differently, it didn't have quite the impact on me that it usually does, and I didn't cry as much. I hate to cry in public, but I missed that ending.

As for the rest of the production, I don't have too much to be critical about. MaryJoanna Grisso and Addison Reid Coe who played Maria and Tony respectively were very good. MaryJoanna had a beautiful, clear soprano voice, and Tony's voice was very pleasing. Michelle Alves as Anita was excellent. The dance numbers, based on Jerome Robbins original choreography were wonderful, as were the dancers who performed them. This is such a dance-heavy musical, and each number was performed brilliantly. It's wonderful to many iconic moves that are strongly associated with West Side Story.

This is the touring production of the most recent revival of the musical that opened on Broadway in 2009. The production was different from the original and previous revivals as a lot of the dialogue spoken by the Puerto Rican characters is in Spanish, and many lyrics were changed to Spanish also. I think it lent an air of authenticity, but it was a little frustrating not to be able to understand many of the things they said. I know a little Spanish, so I understood a bit, but I'm sure the majority of the audience didn't know any Spanish, and I don't know if they were frustrated about it.

There are many musicals that have been made into movies, and are changed in the process. Scenes are switched around, songs are moved or deleted, and new songs are added. Some community theaters want to change the stage production to match the movie that more people are familiar with (I've seen this done with The Sound of Music, and it makes me quite livid because you shouldn't change scripts just because you want to - it's against the copyright). I was so happy to see the original stage version of West Side Story. I love that the boys aren't in "America," that "Cool" is before the rumble, not after, and that "I Feel Pretty" is after the rumble, not before Tony comes to see Maria at the dress shop. The movie is very good, and the changes they made were appropriate for the film, but I like to see the stage production as it was originally written and performed on Broadway.

Stage Review: Shrek, the Musical

When the animated movie, Shrek, opened in 2001, audiences knew right away that it wasn't your typical Disney fairy tale. The title character, and hero, was a big, green ogre with a Scottish brogue. His sidekick was a talking donkey, the princess had a curse placed on her that... well, if you don't know, I'm not going to spoil the twist. And the villain was height challenged. Birds spontaneously combusted, flatulence jokes abounded, a dragon fell in love with a donkey, and Shrek saved a princess from a tower. The movie was so popular that there weren't only two sequels, but three.

Dreamworks adapted the popular movie for the stage and created Shrek, the Musical, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and closed in 2010. The main characters were given back stories and they sang their way through the story. The touring production came to Salt Lake City, and I've been excited about seeing the musical since I heard it was part of the Broadway in Utah season.

The show opens as we learn the "once upon a time" for our two main characters. On his seventh birthday Shrek's parents sent him off by himself into the "big, bright beautiful world." And at around the same age, Fiona is sent to a tower by her parents. Not a very happy beginning for our two main characters. But Shrek finds his own little muddy patch of swamp land away from everyone else, until a bunch of fairy tale characters who have been banished from Duloc by Lord Farquaad interrupt his happy, solitary life. This event is the impetus that takes Shrek on a journey to rescue Fiona from the tower, and where he meets the talking donkey, who will eventually become a friend.

Shrek is by no means a great musical. It is entertaining, at times very funny, and has many fun musical numbers. Some of the humor fell flat for me, such as the flatulence jokes, just as they did in the movie. That kind of low humor just isn't funny to me.

The references to other musicals and movies were funny. Some references were obvious, and others were a bit more subtle. Some of the musical references I notices were Gypsy, Wicked, Dreamgirls, and Les Miserables. I seemed to be the only one who laughed at the references, and I'm sure the people around me wondered why I was laughing. Some of the movies that were referenced were Babe ("That'll do, donkey (pig), that'll do."), and Dirty Dancing ("Nobody puts Baby in a corner.")

Peter Sook's performance as Shrek fell a bit flat for me, as did some of his notes. He was okay in the role, but not a stand out. The stand-out performances for me were  Jeremy Marriner as Lord Farquaad and Whitney Winfield as Princess Fiona. Mariner's Farquaad was hilarious, and he had an added challenge of having to spend most of his time on stage on his knees to give the illusion that he was short, just as he was in the movie. The bit worked very well, and led to many comic moments. He played the diminutive villain very well.

Winfield reminded me a lot of Sutton Foster at first, who originated the role of Fiona in the Broadway production. Her mannerisms and delivery of her lines were similar to Michelle on Bunheads (on ABC Family), who is played by Sutton Foster. But soon I forgot about Sutton Foster, and simply enjoyed Winfield's performance on her own merit. You could tell that she enjoyed the role and was having a good time. Her musical number, "Morning Person," was a highlight of the musical. The tap portion with the dancing mice had great choreography. You can't beat a bunch of dancing mice who perform with drill-team precision.

The fairy tale creatures were a great ensemble. Their two numbers, "Story of My Life" and "Freak Flag" were enjoyable highlights, even though the numbers did nothing to further the story of Shrek and Fiona. I have to mention Maggie Tompkins, who played little Fiona. Her singing in "I Know It's Today" was clear, on pitch, and she has natural comic timing. Who can resist a cute little seven year-old redhead? All three of the Fionas were wonderful in the song.

I bought the Broadway cast recording soundtrack to the musical as soon as it was available, and I love most of the music. I was looking forward to seeing how the songs I enjoyed so much were incorporated into the story. I was disappointed that one of my favorite songs, "Build a Wall," has been cut from the show. I understand that it was cut because they wanted to shorten the show. I wish that they had cut "The Ballad of Farquaad" instead, but that is Lord Farquaad's only big song, so I guess that wouldn't be fair to take it away from him, but "Build a Wall" is a much better song.

The dragon's number in the Broadway production "Donkey Pot Pie" has been replaced by another song, "Forever," which was a good change. The production number was great and the dragon was impressive. The back-up singers in the number were great too. They were men in the stocks who had tried previously to kill the dragon, and had been there "forever."

Following the curtain call, the cast treated us to a fun version of "I'm a Believer." It was a perfect ending to a very fun show.

Stage Review: Dreamgirls

I have just added another musical to my list of favorites. Dreamgirls. The touring production I just saw has led me to add it to my list. This production was full of theatricality - all of the things I love about musical theatre - great acting, beautiful costumes, a great set, a great score, and incredible voices. 

Dreamgirls is about a Supremes-like girl group in the sixties and seventies. The story follows them from the beginning of their career as backup singers to an established male singer, to their success as their own group, the Dreamettes, and the drama that goes on behind the scenes. Jasmin Richardson (Deena), Mary Searcy (Lorrell), and Charity Dawson (Effie), play the trio.

The set was simple and didn't overpower any aspect of the production. It consisted mainly of panels that moved around the stage, and where lights and images were projected. It was used well to indicate scene changes. The first scene where the three main girls are competing with other music groups at the famed Apollo Theater is very well staged, moving seamlessly back and forth between the acts on stage and the excitement happening backstage of the theater. 

The costumes were wonderful, and fit the fashion of the times (1962-75) well. The gowns worn by the trio who made up the Dreamettes were striking. There were a few major costume changes that happened in mere minutes. The changes were very impressive and made the audience wonder how they were able to do it in such a short amount of time. 

All of the musical numbers were well done, but there were a few stand-outs for me. "Stepping' to the Bad Side" was a great production number. The choreography was outstanding and it was performed perfectly by the chorus. I loved "Listen." In the film it was turned into a solo for Beyonce, who played Deena Jones, but in the stage production it is a wonderful duet between Deena and Effie. I loved it as a duet. It changed the meaning of the song, and it was much more moving in the context of the story.

Of course I have to mention the most famous number in the musical, "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going." Charity Dawson definitely had the "chops" to sing it. It's a great end to act one. I had issues with some of Dawson's acting choices during the song, but on the whole, it was a great number.

I love it when I'm able to see stage musical I've never seen before, and I love it even more when I like the show and the production. Now I want to go back and watch the film again and see what changes they made. I enjoyed the film the first time I saw it, and I think I'll enjoy it more now that I've seen the stage production.