My Experience With West Side Story

I'll never forget the first time I saw West Side Story. The movie that is. It was during my freshman English class in high school and our teacher had as watch it because we were reading Romeo and Juliet. I figured how bad could it be. I had seen plenty of musicals both on stage and on film and had just performed in my first one the year before so I knew what to expect. Now I'll be honest when the movie started and these so called tough guys started dancing I and most of my male classmates started to laugh. It wasn't until a few years later when I watched again that I truly appreciated it for the cinematic masterpiece that it is.

Now for years there have been talks about West Side Story coming back to Broadway but nothing ever materialized. In fact the last one until now was 1980. I thought it would never happen. Then in the Summer of 2008 it was announced that the show was returning to Broadway following a Washington D. C. engagement. The big question is would it be any good. The show opened to rave reviews in Washington and the show made it's way too Broadway in March 2009. As a ticket broker we are often invited to all the new shows prior to opening so we can talk about them when people call wanting on feedback on what to see when the come to visit New York.

So there I sat on a rainy Wednesday afternoon waiting to see a live production of West Side Story for the very first time. The music began to play and just like in the movie the Jets make their first entrance. This time I wasn't laughing. Nearly three hours later the show was over and I make my way out thru the doors onto seventh avenue reflecting about what I just saw. Did I enjoy it more than the movie? No. But I didn't hate it either. The cast for the most part is good with Tony winner Karen Olivo(Anita)being the real standout. Look the show may not be perfect but chances are this will be the last time West Side Story will be on Broadway for many,many years if not at all. Enjoy it while it lasts. Until next time theatre fans.

JWB
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