West Side Story?

Hey, did anyone get a chance to see West Side Story by Rob Martin productions? I heard good things but didn't get there myself - just wondering if anyone could offer a review?

Hi, I saw the production and was dissapointed. The sound was terrible, the band were all over the place and the lighting was hopeless. Knowing some of the cast, they were also disappointed with the show. The performers were fantastic, couldn't fault any of them, I just think the behind the scenes teams needed to work a lot harder to support the cast. There was also some horrendous fighting going on backstage and defintely had an effect on the show.

bhodge, you got it to a tee. i was in the show, and we had some ridiculous issues going on backstage. the band was definitely a major problem, and that was largely beacuse half of them were provided by the club, and to throw bernstein at them was just plain cruel. they did try, and the MD absolutely worked her butt off to get them together we were lucky to have it sounding half decent. there were also a lot of issues going on between crew and a few of the cast members, and i'm really frustrated with how it affected the show. BUT i have heard glowing things about the choreography, and majority of us really had fun with the show.

"...some horrendous fighting going on backstage and defintely(sic) had an effect on the show." You got me intrigued. What's the 'goss' on this one?

"You got me intrigued. What's the 'goss' on this one?" umm where to begin... there were some SEVERE disagreements between the director and the md and the designer about anything and everything. a couple of divas in the cast which made it interesting backstage. by the end of it, everyone was sick and miserable.

So who were the divas? Were they the leads?

I think a good deal of the problem was a general lack of support offered to fellow cast - members. When a memeber of cast had an issue, or indeed maybe got a little heated the trend was to bitch about that person behingd their back as opposed to acting like a team and sorting through problems. You can accuse people of acting like diva's but seriously when all you do is bitch about them and their "diva" behaviour behind their back aren't you adding to the list of diva's in the cast? A cast is a team guys! Love each other! :P Help each other and then the big bitch fights won't occur. Sometimes people need a supportive shoulder and a friendly ear - not a dismissive shrug and nasty gossip!

I was the MD for this show and just to set the record straight, I agree with some of bhodge81 agreements BUT we did the best we could with the lack of time in the venue and the restriction placed upon us by the venue. Secondly, I have been involved in over 40 shows - not one show ever goes smoothly without some sort of problem between the cast and / or cast and crew. The choreographer was the best I have ever worked with. Whoever dansingirl is obviously knows something I don't, because there certainly were no SEVERE disagreements between myself and the director. At the final rehearsal, there were a few words exchanged but that is all. It is these types of forums that cause major problems and leaves the production team wondering why we bother. Has the cast ever thought how frustrating it is to try putting a show together when rehearsals are meant to start at 8pm and the full cast is not there until 8.30 or even 9pm? Have the cast ever thought about how hard it is to put a show together when we don't have a full cast to run the show until 3 rehearsals before opening night? Why don't the cast spend their time and energy on something constructive instead of gossiping. I have worked with more people than anyone in the cast and I did not find one person to be a diva. Quite the opposite - everyone was extremely professional and cooperative. BUT, if I must say, I am extremely disappointed that someone in the cast wrote the above. Anyway, I just wanted to add my two cents and try and set the record straight, the way I saw it.

I heard that there was a fantastic dancer in the cast who could step-ball-change like no other!! i think he played A-Rab??

Hells wrote: > It is these types of forums that cause major problems and > leaves the production team wondering why we bother. Has > the cast ever thought how frustrating it is to try putting > a show together when rehearsals are meant to start at 8pm > and the full cast is not there until 8.30 or even 9pm? So your cast were late for rehearsal because they were busy chatting on forums like this? :-) If discussion on this forum is any sort of problem it would only be symptomatic of problems elsewhere. > Have the cast ever thought about how hard it is to put > a show together when we don't have a full cast to run the > show until 3 rehearsals before opening night? If cast are arriving half an hour to an hour late for rehearsal - if, apparently, they bother turning up at all - I'd say there were serious problems that had nothing to do with gossip. Casts usually will spend their time constructively, if the rehearsals are planned and run effectively. This would include taking steps to ensure that cast members arrive prepared to start rehearsing at the scheduled time. A company will very quickly turn to time-wasting and gossip if they don't see that a clear commitment to work is expected, required and demonstrated. I wouldn't be looking to the internet for the reasons why a production had "major problems", I'd be looking much closer to home. Cheers Grant

My last comment on this subject - Grant Malcolm, you should not write about something you were not involved in and have no idea about. Rehearsals ran to a strict schedule, and clear commitment was demonstrated by all the production team. Once again, there were no "major problems" but obviously one cast member who like to cause trouble. Hells

Hells wrote: > My last comment on this subject - Grant Malcolm, you > should not write about something you were not involved > in and have no idea about. I'll be sure to seek your permission before commenting in future. ;-) I was responding to your own description of the rehearsal process... which seems to change like the wind? Cheers Grant

bhodge81 wrote: "I saw the production and was dissapointed. The sound was terrible, the band were all over the place and the lighting was hopeless." Well....I was there and had to sight read that music. Obviously bhodge81 is a musicologist and theatre "critic" with his/her head totally up the preverbial and nothing better to do. The Producer attempted to put on a difficult show with insufficient production time and an amateur cast. Anyone with half a brain could figure out that with all three rehearsals being "dress rehearsals" for the cast's benefit, the music would suffer. Professional presentations of this show spend several WEEKS of musical rehearsal before performance. A proper music rehearsal is for the musicians (and not the cast) where difficult areas can be worked on. The Band did not have any such opportunity to work through the score (Which is perhaps the most difficult theatre score ever written) and did a pretty good job of "sight reading" the parts considering the fact that they got the music the day before or at the first rehearsal. As for the divas, they forgot how the songs went and seemed to get worse with each performance. The Conductor was excellent and the producer owes her a great deal of thanks for her efforts with the music and the cast. West Side Story - Shoe-string Budget Club production ! How brave an undertaking. Musician

I saw the Saturday evening performance and although there were some obvious troubles in the second act, thought the show was acceptable as a “potted” performance. Well done. A demanding undertaking indeed. I concur Walter Musician. I have seen many shows and have a basic but good understanding of how complex it can be to pull off such a challenge as West Side Story. The pathetic comments of both bhodgehead81 and sillydansingurl display a total lack of understanding of the production requirements for staging such a demanding show and display the pathetic ego of both people. The venue was not a theatre and obviously had limited facilities. It showed that there was inadequate rehearsal for the musicians. The cast did a great job but considering the amount of time the cast had to work on their parts (some 4 months, I was told) it was disappointing to hear them vocally mess up the songs and to see some clumsy moves. The conductor was at times singing the parts to the performers from a distance trying to get them in time and had a job of it all and to her credit was the unsung hero of the performance. Bravo! Not blaming anybody but "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link". This is true for everyone and was apparent in every part of the performance. Lets face it, if we wanted to crucify the production (as some have done) we would simply bag everyone, but as there is no point being that negative, how about encouraging the performers and looking at fixing the problems. Gerald

Hey, Dancingurl, re: your comments "the band was definitely a major problem, and that was largely because half of them were provided by the club, and to throw bernstein at them was just plain cruel." Shame on you ! You are pathetic to say the least. I suppose you first had a go at West Side Story that week too eh??? Yeah, I bet ! How many times have you and the cast rehearsed and performed WSS - and still blow it ??? (though on each night, your performance was flawless) Some facts: • Most of the missed cues were from your “regular” players! (the half not provided by the Club) • Bernstein never wrote a "Condensed Score" ! He never wrote that shit ! That was a ridiculous effort by Hal Leonard Publications to “reduce” a fabulous score for complete orchestra down to a small band and in the translation published parts that were in some instances, as composite reductions, simply "un-playable" and required a lot of rehearsal time. • The 3 rehearsals we had were NOT music rehearsals but (as other commentators have said) they were “Cast” Rehearsals. A music rehearsal is one where the band can stop and work thru passages to sort it out, not an exercise in reading at sight! • You guys had your CD to rehearse along with for months and still managed to get worse each night! • We got the music the day before or on the day of the first rehearsal ! I guess that you would have no concept of any of this at all, being a dancer with 2 left feet, no ears and no brain, as you are! You need a good dose of humility or should simply get out of show business. One thing you cannot do in show business is put amateurs and professionals together. Thankfully the show had a very good Conductor to save the day- I dont know how she did it ! Member of The Band

Have to agree with the musoes on the difficulty of this score. It's a nasty one- even in the full orchestral version. Most Berstein is. However, I think that possibly the criticism levelled at the show was mostly spot on. It sounds like the band were not on top of the score, neither were a lot of the singers. It was very useful to hear from the band that the producer (who is obviously an idiot) tried to do the show on minimum/no music calls (let me guess, the musoes were being paid!). However, I think you better served your cause by simply stating these facts, instead of going off at people who have given an honest opinion of their experience of the show. ummm, the rest of the stuff coming up simply shows me that a bunch of amateurs (and not the cast) were involved in this. Bad/unsuitable venue, band in at the last minute, and getting their music on the day or day before, cast not knowing their music after 4 months rehearsal, 8pm calls starting after 830- and full cast not available until 3 rehearsals before the show?!! In any show this is bizarre, but in West Side it's a death wish. Someone should be shot, from the producer to the director to the MD for allowing any of this to happen. If the cast weren't going to be up to it, you should have seen this early on (in auditions?) and either done some more work-or more effectively- some judicious sacking. An MD with as much experience as claimed should have known better than to let a producer and/or director force them to run this show without any music calls for the band. I'm sorry, but I don't think any amount of talented or skilled stick waving grants exemption from this responsibility to the composer, the musicians, the music and the paying public. I too have done many productions both amateur and pro, as a muso, actor and MD, and never had any experiences remotely close to many of those discussed. My only hope is that no member of the public was forced to spend hard-earned money going to see an obviously ill-prepared production. You don't mind so much when you know everyone is doing their best, but lack of adequate preparation is simply not good enough. It does nothing for the rest of the industry trying to get audiences in. Thus endeth my rant. Neville It's the simple things stupid...

Elequently put Neville.