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Apr. 23rd, 2023 10:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petzipellepingoThe original star of such musicals as "West Side Story," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Chicago" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman," theater legend Chita Rivera, now 90 and author of "Chita: A Memoir," talks with correspondent Mo Rocca about her long career; some of the men in her life; and what it takes to succeed on Broadway.
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Nov. 30th, 2022 10:26 ampetzipellepingoThe Museum of Broadway Is Open. Here Are 10 Highlights.
In Times Square, a 26,000-square-foot space details the history of theater with objects like Patti LuPone’s “Evita” wig, a Jets jacket from “West Side Story” and more.
By Sarah Bahr
When a Broadway show closes, the next stop for the hundreds of costumes, setpieces and props is often … the dumpster.
“The producers often stop paying rent in a storage unit somewhere, which is heartbreaking,” said Julie Boardman, one of the founders of the Museum of Broadway, which opened in Times Square this month.
( Read more... )
In Times Square, a 26,000-square-foot space details the history of theater with objects like Patti LuPone’s “Evita” wig, a Jets jacket from “West Side Story” and more.
By Sarah Bahr
When a Broadway show closes, the next stop for the hundreds of costumes, setpieces and props is often … the dumpster.
“The producers often stop paying rent in a storage unit somewhere, which is heartbreaking,” said Julie Boardman, one of the founders of the Museum of Broadway, which opened in Times Square this month.
( Read more... )
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Oct. 14th, 2022 04:37 pmpetzipellepingoMickey Calin, Original Riff In West Side Story, Passes Away At 86
Originally deemed "too pretty" to be the leader of the Jets, Calin was later hand picked by Jerome Robbins to originate the historically significant role.
BY MARGARET HALL
Mickey Calin, who originated the role of Riff in West Side Story, passed away October 10 from pneumonia. He was 86.
( Read more... )
Originally deemed "too pretty" to be the leader of the Jets, Calin was later hand picked by Jerome Robbins to originate the historically significant role.
BY MARGARET HALL
Mickey Calin, who originated the role of Riff in West Side Story, passed away October 10 from pneumonia. He was 86.
( Read more... )
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Feb. 8th, 2022 11:25 ampetzipellepingoFrom a 2007 Library of Congress salute to "West Side Story," musical material for the original production ultimately cut or altered: "My Greatest Day" (early version of prologue); "Like Everybody Else" aka "Kids Ain't" (cut song for Anybodys, 5:32); "Mix" (for the rumble, 10:30); the discarded "bull fight" lyric for "I Feel Pretty," 12:05; "This Turf Is Ours" (alternate for "Jet Song," 12:59); "A Boy Like That" (early trio version with Tony, 14:00). Singers in this event: Stephen Paul Cramer, Eleasha Gamble, James Gardiner, Will Gartshore, and Tracy Lynn Olivera.
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Dec. 26th, 2021 07:35 ampetzipellepingoHarvey Evans, actor in Broadway's golden years, dies at 80
By Mark Kennedy | AP
NEW YORK — Harvey Evans, an actor, singer and dancer who had a knack for landing roles in the original Broadway productions of such classics as “West Side Story,” “Follies” “Hello, Dolly!” and “Gypsy,” has died. He was 80.
( Read more... )
By Mark Kennedy | AP
NEW YORK — Harvey Evans, an actor, singer and dancer who had a knack for landing roles in the original Broadway productions of such classics as “West Side Story,” “Follies” “Hello, Dolly!” and “Gypsy,” has died. He was 80.
( Read more... )
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Dec. 25th, 2021 05:19 ampetzipellepingoWhat Is ‘West Side Story’ Without Jerome Robbins? Chatty.
Justin Peck takes over choreographic duties in the Steven Spielberg adaptation of the 1957 musical in which words, not bodies, rule the screen.
By Gia Kourlas
It’s been days since I watched the Steven Spielberg reboot of “West Side Story,” and I still can’t get a scene out of my head: The fateful meeting of Tony and Maria at the gym.
( Read more... )
Justin Peck takes over choreographic duties in the Steven Spielberg adaptation of the 1957 musical in which words, not bodies, rule the screen.
By Gia Kourlas
It’s been days since I watched the Steven Spielberg reboot of “West Side Story,” and I still can’t get a scene out of my head: The fateful meeting of Tony and Maria at the gym.
( Read more... )
64 Years Ago
Dec. 14th, 2021 07:59 ampetzipellepingo‘West Side Story,’ now in theaters, shocked Broadway audiences in 1957
By Marisa Iati
The Broadway show ran for 732 performances. The first film adaptation won 10 Academy Awards. And the fictional love story between a former gang member and the sister of a rival gang’s leader spawned more than a dozen revivals and tours.
Now Jerome Robbins’s beloved musical, “West Side Story,” is on theater screens once again. The new film, directed by Steven Spielberg, premiered Friday.
( Read more... )
By Marisa Iati
The Broadway show ran for 732 performances. The first film adaptation won 10 Academy Awards. And the fictional love story between a former gang member and the sister of a rival gang’s leader spawned more than a dozen revivals and tours.
Now Jerome Robbins’s beloved musical, “West Side Story,” is on theater screens once again. The new film, directed by Steven Spielberg, premiered Friday.
( Read more... )
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Dec. 11th, 2021 07:08 pmpetzipellepingoWest Side Story (2021) vs. West Side Story (1961): What Are the Differences?
We examine the big and small changes Steven Spielberg made with his West Side Story remake, including where he surpassed the original.
By David Crow
This article contains spoilers for both screen versions of WEST SIDE STORY.
( Read more... )
We examine the big and small changes Steven Spielberg made with his West Side Story remake, including where he surpassed the original.
By David Crow
This article contains spoilers for both screen versions of WEST SIDE STORY.
( Read more... )
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Dec. 1st, 2021 09:31 ampetzipellepingoThe Great ‘West Side Story’ Debate
With the Steven Spielberg film coming soon, three critics, a playwright and a theater historian weigh in on whether the musical deserves a new hearing — and how.
Since its Broadway premiere in 1957, “West Side Story” — a musical based on “Romeo and Juliet” and created by four white men — has been at once beloved and vexing.
The score, featuring such Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim classics as “Somewhere” and “Maria,” is considered one of the best in Broadway history. The cast album was a No. 1 smash. The 1961 movie won best picture and nine other Oscars. The show has been regularly revived, most recently on Broadway last year in a short-lived radical rethinking by the Belgian director Ivo van Hove. And now, this month, a movie remake by none other than Steven Spielberg.
( Read more... )
With the Steven Spielberg film coming soon, three critics, a playwright and a theater historian weigh in on whether the musical deserves a new hearing — and how.
Since its Broadway premiere in 1957, “West Side Story” — a musical based on “Romeo and Juliet” and created by four white men — has been at once beloved and vexing.
The score, featuring such Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim classics as “Somewhere” and “Maria,” is considered one of the best in Broadway history. The cast album was a No. 1 smash. The 1961 movie won best picture and nine other Oscars. The show has been regularly revived, most recently on Broadway last year in a short-lived radical rethinking by the Belgian director Ivo van Hove. And now, this month, a movie remake by none other than Steven Spielberg.
( Read more... )
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Nov. 29th, 2021 09:49 ampetzipellepingoSUNDAY DECEMBER 5
SOMETHING’S COMING: WEST SIDE STORY - A SPECIAL EDITION OF 20/20 7 p.m. on ABC. Before Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of “West Side Story” hits theaters on Dec. 10, this prime-time program will revisit the history and making of that musical. Catch interviews with artists who helped shape the show, historians and performers from productions both old and new, including Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, and Ariana DeBose, who, in Spielberg’s movie, has the formidable task of taking on a role once played by Moreno. “Not only am I remaking ‘West Side Story,’” DeBose recently told The Times Style Magazine, “but I’m stepping into Rita Moreno’s shoes — and she is beloved not only by Latinos but by the entire industry and musical fandom.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/arts/television/whats-on-tv-this-week-willy-wonka-and-a-west-side-story-special.html
SOMETHING’S COMING: WEST SIDE STORY - A SPECIAL EDITION OF 20/20 7 p.m. on ABC. Before Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of “West Side Story” hits theaters on Dec. 10, this prime-time program will revisit the history and making of that musical. Catch interviews with artists who helped shape the show, historians and performers from productions both old and new, including Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, and Ariana DeBose, who, in Spielberg’s movie, has the formidable task of taking on a role once played by Moreno. “Not only am I remaking ‘West Side Story,’” DeBose recently told The Times Style Magazine, “but I’m stepping into Rita Moreno’s shoes — and she is beloved not only by Latinos but by the entire industry and musical fandom.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/arts/television/whats-on-tv-this-week-willy-wonka-and-a-west-side-story-special.html
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Nov. 28th, 2021 05:14 ampetzipellepingoStephen Sondheim's greatest triumphs as an artist
The musical theater giant's death at 91 leaves behind an enduring and influential legacy.
By Maureen Lee Lenker
There are giants in the sky, and Stephen Sondheim is now among their number. The legendary composer and lyricist, considered by many to be the greatest musical theater artist of the last 60 years, left us (halfway through the woods) when he died Friday at 91.
He left behind a stirring collection of musical triumphs, a body of work that audiences will no doubt continue to rediscover for generations. Here, we examine the most enduring contributions Sondheim made to music and musical theater, work that embodies the highs and lows of simply being alive.
( Read more... )
The musical theater giant's death at 91 leaves behind an enduring and influential legacy.
By Maureen Lee Lenker
There are giants in the sky, and Stephen Sondheim is now among their number. The legendary composer and lyricist, considered by many to be the greatest musical theater artist of the last 60 years, left us (halfway through the woods) when he died Friday at 91.
He left behind a stirring collection of musical triumphs, a body of work that audiences will no doubt continue to rediscover for generations. Here, we examine the most enduring contributions Sondheim made to music and musical theater, work that embodies the highs and lows of simply being alive.
( Read more... )
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Oct. 29th, 2021 04:11 pmpetzipellepingoFor West Side Story fans who are also very excited about Steven Spielberg's version coming out in December! This is a shot by shot reaction of the official trailer for the 2021 movie.
A shot by shot analysis of the recent 'Special Look' teaser for West Side Story (2021).
Discussion of West Side Story songs, differences between the 1957 original Broadway production and the 1961 movie, and thoughts about the songs in the 2021 movie based on what we've seen so far in the trailers.
A shot by shot analysis of the recent 'Special Look' teaser for West Side Story (2021).
Discussion of West Side Story songs, differences between the 1957 original Broadway production and the 1961 movie, and thoughts about the songs in the 2021 movie based on what we've seen so far in the trailers.
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2021 10:21 ampetzipellepingo‘In the Heights’ is an award-winning hit. Its predecessor, ‘West Side Story,’ shocked audiences.
By
Marisa Iati
Excitement greeted “In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dynamic paean to the Latin American communities of New York City’s Washington Heights, when it launched on Broadway in 2008. The New York Daily News proclaimed that “Latinos are back on Broadway.” The show garnered 13 Tony nominations and four wins.
When the movie version premiered this week, hundreds of people gathered outside the United Palace theater to try to glimpse the film’s young stars.
But “West Side Story,” a direct predecessor to “In the Heights” for its similar focus on Latinos in New York, was greeted much less warmly when it began its own Broadway run in 1957. Audiences and critics alike were discomfited by the violence and juvenile delinquency portrayed in that musical, an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” that trades rival families for warring street gangs — one Puerto Rican and another White. (A new movie version of “West Side Story” directed by Steven Spielberg is set to be released in December.)
( Read more... )
By
Marisa Iati
Excitement greeted “In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s dynamic paean to the Latin American communities of New York City’s Washington Heights, when it launched on Broadway in 2008. The New York Daily News proclaimed that “Latinos are back on Broadway.” The show garnered 13 Tony nominations and four wins.
When the movie version premiered this week, hundreds of people gathered outside the United Palace theater to try to glimpse the film’s young stars.
But “West Side Story,” a direct predecessor to “In the Heights” for its similar focus on Latinos in New York, was greeted much less warmly when it began its own Broadway run in 1957. Audiences and critics alike were discomfited by the violence and juvenile delinquency portrayed in that musical, an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” that trades rival families for warring street gangs — one Puerto Rican and another White. (A new movie version of “West Side Story” directed by Steven Spielberg is set to be released in December.)
( Read more... )
