West Side Story

(My apologies that MTT isn’t familiar with the tempo of this cha-cha)

So, the latest iteration of “West Side Story” finally opened on Broadway and is pulling in a cool million/week.  I saw this show in DC during out-of-town tryouts.  You can tell from the reactions that the critics see this as a way to define themselves.  As far as I’m concerned Terry Teachout hits the nail on the head.

One really must wonder what the point of Mr. Laurents’ alterations is.  Why the Spanish?  For realism?  Um, I kind of thought this was a musical we were talking about.  If you want realism, make a documentary — chances are you won’t see street gangs singing and dancing through the streets of Manhattan.

Perhpas we should leave the translating to the Takarazuka Revue: