West Side Story--A Staggering Production

        By Joseph Cervelli

The new propulsive "West Side Story"at the Broadway Theater is not, as the saying goes, your parents’"West Side Story." This  brilliantly inventive new production with Belgian  director has Ivo  van  Hove ("The Crucible, "Network," A View From the Bridge") at the helm  is unlike any version you have seen before, and that is what makes it so special. New and different does not always mean better. And I am not trying to infer it is superior to previous productions but his insight into the show makes it so very appropriate in 2020. My fervent hope is that just as "To Kill a Mockingbird" invited 18,000 children to Madison Square Garden to see that show, something similar could be done here. It would be a wasted opportunity not to follow through.

Every moment of this intermissionless production is bristling with tension. Even the first scene where the Jets and Sharks (who are both multi-cultural)  are staring out at the audience almost expressionless you find yourself in rapt attention.  Their faces are projected on the large screen behind them. Yes, I know, van Hove does like projections as was evident very much in "Network." Yet, despite a few minor distractions here and there, it works beautifully and will shortly get into why.

The famous prologue with finger snapping is gone. And it should be. You would not expect kids of today to do that. But wait a second, there is no time period listed and they do use  terms from the original 1957 production, such as, “Daddy-o." The more things change the more they stay the same? Perhaps, that is one aspect of what he was trying to achieve. Slowly opposing groups engage by taunting each other and avant-garde Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has instilled her own style of dance. While not the balletic movements of the original choreographer Jerome Robbins, it does not stray so far away. I still caught some classical movements incorporated with  hip hop styles. Her strong, robust movements are performed beautifully.

The other changes include no "I Feel Pretty," and in this production it would never have fit in. Maria played by a rapturous Shereen Pimentel is not the meek Maria have seen in the past. She is feisty and displays a fierce independence. She knows she is still curtailed by her overprotective brother, Bernardo, played with quiet intensity by Amar Ramasar, but will assert herself as much as she can. Her voice is simply gorgeous and her outburst in the last scene is as if you never heard Maria’s agonizing pain of loss before.

It was an astute move on van Hove's part not to include an intermission for the time of various scenes appears on the screen and would damage the smoothness and ferocity of the structure of this production.

Quite emphatically Isaac Powell has created the best Tony I have ever seen in the various productions  I have attended over the years. There is something so tender and frolicsome about his interpretation. A young man lost in the clutches of those around  him. He possesses a vulnerability and playfulness, such as, in his duet with Maria you see him hiding in the corner in a lovably silly mood. Exactly like you would expect a young man to act when meeting that special person for the first time and knowing there is no other. Besides possessing a wonderfully melodic voice,listen carefully to his rendition of “Maria” and you will never want to hear any past ones. Each time he utters those words there is a different intonation and feeling. It is quite astonishing.

Van Hove has the ability to keep the original dialogue and book intact and make changes that only add to this epochal musical. "Gee, Officer Krupke" once a comical number is deadly serious with Luke Hall"s mesmerizing projections that include officers involved in police brutality and the Jets all taking out their cell phones. Van Hove along with his vital collaborator Jan Versweveld (sets and lighting) have rain falling several times to set the already dark atmosphere that spells tragedy for the characters.

When I mentioned earlier why the projections work so well, let me for a moment take you to the pivotal moment where Maria and Anita (a scorching Yemeni Ayala) sing the heartbreaking "A Boy Like That"/"I Have a Love." You don't see them on stage but rather in Maria's bedroom via the projections. Then they step forward and are the only ones who stand on the expansive stage. Perhaps, van Hove is showing how they are mere specks in the world yet while presenting them prior on the large screen you understand their feelings on a more personal level.With this unique director, I always feel that symbolism is inherent somewhere in his work.

There is not one moment when you don't hold your breath and what makes it work so well is that even though that last scene is so agonizing you desperately hope there could be some hope. It is a staggering production which I urge you to see, maybe even more than once.

PHOTOS: JAN VERSWEYVELD

Tickets are available at the Broadway Theater 1681 Broadway.