(no subject)

[petzipellepingo]

Never-ending West Side story
The themes behind this beloved musical still resonate today


By Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen

When the perennially popular West Side Story played Los Angeles a little over a year ago, an audience member approached director David Saint, threw a drink at him, and demanded, "How dare you f*** like this with a classic?"

Saint, unsurprisingly, was nonplussed.

After all, he'd worked diligently alongside Arthur Laurents a couple of years previously when Laurents updated the libretto he'd written for the original Broadway hit musical, which debuted in 1957, about warring Puerto Rican and Anglo youth gangs in New York City. The new version launched in 2009 with Laurents directing, and Saint became director of the touring show, which eventually played L.A. and comes to the National Arts Centre this week.

In updating the show, Laurents, who has since died, wanted to modernize it by increasing the grittiness. He also changed chunks of the musical from English to Spanish.

All of which caused consternation not just for that L.A. audience member but for many others, including some critics.
( Read more... )

(no subject)

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Never-ending West Side story
The themes behind this beloved musical still resonate today


By Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen

When the perennially popular West Side Story played Los Angeles a little over a year ago, an audience member approached director David Saint, threw a drink at him, and demanded, "How dare you f*** like this with a classic?"

Saint, unsurprisingly, was nonplussed.

After all, he'd worked diligently alongside Arthur Laurents a couple of years previously when Laurents updated the libretto he'd written for the original Broadway hit musical, which debuted in 1957, about warring Puerto Rican and Anglo youth gangs in New York City. The new version launched in 2009 with Laurents directing, and Saint became director of the touring show, which eventually played L.A. and comes to the National Arts Centre this week.

In updating the show, Laurents, who has since died, wanted to modernize it by increasing the grittiness. He also changed chunks of the musical from English to Spanish.

All of which caused consternation not just for that L.A. audience member but for many others, including some critics.
( Read more... )