Review: West Side Story (Lyric Theatre, HKAPA)
A new production ofWest Side Story, directed by Joey McKneely, is having its world tour. It just had its premiere in Hong Kong at the Lyric Theatre of Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts last week.
Following tightly to Jerome Robbin’s original choreography and direction of the Broadway dance musical classic firstly produced in 1957, West Side Story, even though its execution is flawed, is still a fair treat to revisit this timeless masterpiece.
With a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Berstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the Robbins’s ballet-based musical has been considered sacred ever since it firstly produced. The semi-operatic composition, as well as the revolutionary choreography on the classic ballet form, really made West Side Story, the Romeo & Juliet-inspired story about a pair of star-crossed lovers who each refers to two gangs in New York that are rivals, a Broadway product that was ahead of its time.
Most people’s first encounter of West Side Story were probably the Oscar-winning film in 1961, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Even though Sondheim, who I personally worship and will worship till the end of my life, despises that film, I find that film not only deserves its fame in Hollywood film musical history, but it is also an important full-length record of Robbins’s ground-breaking choreography.
The experimental element is so vivid that even after 60 years, one can only be still humble to what Robbins produced, the same impact towards what Pina Bausch did for The Rite of Spring in 1975.
Imagine the opening of a musical that is an introduction of two gangs of thugs, two groups of violent youths harass each other, and by the end, they fight each other violently. How can that be shown in dance form, let alone in the ballet form? Robbins thus defies the pointe technique.
In reverse, there are a lot of flat feet movements, which transform the ballet movements into theatre actions by mixing them with some modern dance techniques. The result is what I call ‘ballet with accents’. Whenever the gang members do a landing, it is not light but heavy, with the dancers’ whole feet thump on the ground. This indicates some sort of violence in their movements. It truly illustrates the nature of these kids as gangsters.
Robbins did experiments on the ballet form by trying to show the characters through breaking these classical movements. It is the vision as well as the high-level techniques Robbins’s choreography requires that makes the dances in West Side Story iconic and timeless.
Thus, I have to say, the current production toured in Hong Kong is a fair disappointment with its execution. I find that, even though the show is mostly performed with enthusiasm, there are slips in the dance department that avoid the company to perform Robbins’s piece to its fullest. Sometimes the energy is not coherent, and there are times when the dancers are not on the same beat during chorus numbers.
In frank, there is not much a new vision about this production but to reincarnate Robbins’s original production, which I do not think it is a problem. I am quite happy that Mr McKneely has captured the spirit of the piece most of the time, and I am also quite delighted to see that Mr McKneely, as a choreographer and director, tries to do new things on top of Robbins’s legacy.
‘Somewhere’ in Act II is revisioned by Mr McKneely with more of a modern dance approach than a ballet one, even though the ballet movements are intact. As a dream sequence of Tony and Maria, the company are all dressed in white with bare feet, which varies from the original design already.
The problem is, however, while the vision speaks modern, the ballet elements are too deep into the number that both elements clash together, and it is hard to find a focus of the number. The execution of the number, instead of being crisp and clean, becomes muddled. Nonetheless, the courage of doing that is much appreciated.
Apart from the criticisms above, I think West Side Story is still enjoyable to see, because the numbers written by Bernstein and Sondheim are also timeless, and they are performed with an adequate energy that keeps me interested.
All the songs showcased are not just iconic but they are masterworks of art, with Bernstein’s edgy score by breaking the classical form, as well as Sondheim’s witty but also highly poetic lyrics that can be nearly defined as poetry. Finally, to be able to witness Robbins’s choreography marrying with Berstein’s music live on stage is already a treat.
Personally, my most favourite song in the whole show is ‘Maria’, and in this production, I can say that this is one of a few moments that it does not disappoint. Kevin Hack as Tony is the best thing of the night. He truly stands out from the whole company. His Tony is warm and innocent, but full of charisma as a young lad throughout the show.
When Mr Hack opens his mouth to sing ‘Maria’, the song that basically only repeats one word most of the time, with a vast musical range and dynamics, I hold my breath, as if there is no oxygen in the Lyric for those three minutes. He brings joy to the song with longing passion, but simultaneously shows his supreme technique as a vocal artist. It was only half of Act I, but that moment of ecstasy lasts forever.
West Side Story (World Tour) at Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts
A Lunchbox Theatrical Productions presentation
Performed in English with Chinese surtitles
Through 18th June 2017
Tickets: HKTicketing
Originally published at The Typewriter.
