Just reading the play scriptit is so full of awkward and rushed dialogue, inconsistencies with characters and situations
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StrongRex — 14 years ago(May 03, 2011 10:59 AM)
Exactly. If "Officer Krupke" were a completely dark, serious number, I wouldn't have minded if it were after the rumble. I don't know what the writers were thinking when they were injecting comedy into a song that took place after Riff had just died.
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StrongRex — 12 years ago(August 05, 2013 11:38 PM)
Being in Staten Island, my shows are always in danger of being checked up on by the agency Powers That Be, who are all located in NYC. As such, we pretty much toe the line as far as sticking to the script. If we were in the Midwest, we could probably get away with making little changes. I do know of a NJ group that did WSS, and it was practically a dupe of the film, placed onstage. How they got away with THAT, I dont know. I doubt they had permission, because I called MTI (the licensing agent for WSS) and asked (begged really) permission to use the boys in AMERICA, and the rep on the phone was adamant cant do it. As I stated earlier, the one area where I didnt back down was on making little modifications to some of the references in the lines, given the venue in which we were playing.
I know that sometimes when "Cool" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" are switched in the show like they are in the movie, they don't add Ice to the script; in fact they don't make Diesel the one to sing "Cool" even though he is supposedly Ice in the play. Instead, Diesel is the one out of control and Action is still the one taking charge and he is the one telling Diesel and the rest of the Jets to "play it cool." Guys, do you not realize that this is STILL out of character for Action? Get it right, why don't you! -
Sophitia36 — 14 years ago(September 24, 2011 03:38 AM)
I completely agree with the OP.
I haven't seen the play, but every change the movie has made makes perfect sense.
The fact that Bernstein and Laurent did not agree only shows that writers are often not the best judges of the quality of what they're doing
I also heard that Tchaikovsky wasn't happy with The Nutcracker, and yet I really think it's his best work, much better than some of the very pompous stuff he's written.
I understand also that some people don't like to see their creations altered, but it's strange to think that they were unable to see how superior the new structure was. Even without having seen the play, I just feel that it would make no sense to have "I Feel Pretty" after the rumble (sheer torture as you said), or "Cool" before the rumble and "Officer Krupke" after. -
StrongRex — 14 years ago(November 10, 2011 10:35 AM)
Seeing it last night, I stand by what I said about the stage version. Everything they did for the movie worked perfectly well and made sense. I cannot see it any other way, and I don't know how anyone else can either.
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stevenackerman69 — 14 years ago(November 19, 2011 02:33 PM)
Well, on stage more focus was on the song and dance material. When they did it for film, which is another medium, they could open it up and have more dialogue and characters who appear only once, like the angry guy in the alley that Action wants to fight.
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StrongRex — 14 years ago(December 31, 2011 12:12 PM)
That's all well and good, but in my opinion the key to having a great show is having a great, solid story to tell. You can make the songs and dance numbers as good as you want them to be, but without great storytelling the show falls flat.
Now the movie had great songs and dance numbers AS WELL AS great storytelling. The music and dance in the stage show were amazing (most of the time), but there were many weak points in the story, as I mentioned before. -
dmnemaine — 14 years ago(March 29, 2012 10:44 AM)
I think one of the main reasons for "Krupke" being performed by the Jets after the rumble is that it was felt there would be a need for a comic number as a tension reliever after the rumble scene. I happen to like the placement of "I Feel Pretty" after the rumble as well. It's a whole lot more poignant because the audience knows that Maria hasn't been awakened to reality yet. And that's the whole crux of "West Side Story" people not living in the reality that's happening around them. Tony and Maria fantasize about a happy life together that we know will never take place. The Puerto Ricans fantasize about a utopian America where all their dreams will come true. The Jets & Sharks fantasize about owning the streets, and don't realize the real ramifications of what the street war they're playing at (people die). Even the cops fantasize that they actually have some control over these street kids. The only one who can see things clearly is Doc, and nobody listens to him. Going back to "Krupke", even after the rumble, the Jets still haven't woken up to the reality of people being dead, and not coming back, and they're still playing their street war game. I think "Krupke" illustrates that perfectly. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that "Krupke" is a purposeful denying of reality by the Jets.
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StrongRex — 13 years ago(May 06, 2012 07:25 AM)
You do raise some good points; in fact that's probably the best argument I've heard against my case. I do remember a friend of mine telling me that he was in a production of West Side Story, and the way they portrayed the "Officer Krupke" scene was showing them influenced on drugs. I suppose that works in a way.
A couple things though: Yes, the Shark GIRLS fantasize about a utopian America in both the play and the movie, but the Shark boys have already experienced America and woken up to its reality there, knowing their dreams are not likely to come true. Also, I think Lt. Schrank is aware that he doesn't have control over the gangs. He certainly tries to, and he succeeds with the Sharks, but he openly expressed anger and frustration when failing to find out from the Jets where the rumble was supposed to take place. And right after that, he says to Doc, "You try keeping hoodlums in line and see what it does to you."
With that said, I still think the "out for revenge" approach after the rumble works perfectly. And there's still the question of Action being out of character in the second act; I do not buy that radical of a change if there was nothing initially in his character leading up to it. He's just not the cool-headed leader type that the play said he was when they needed him to be. -
redavdp — 13 years ago(June 05, 2012 02:08 PM)
I Like the movie version really much.
I saw it in theaters a couple of times (Broadway, Amsterdam, local)
The theater versions were in both the movie and the original layout/lyrics of songs. I like the movie version of the play.
But strange you couldn't perform the movie version, a saw it on stage!
Could be Who knows -
bradford-1 — 13 years ago(June 19, 2012 08:18 AM)
I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that the song placements in the stage version were dictated by scene/costume changes. Obviously, a film doesn't have to worry about moving furniture, props and changing dresses or shoes. Maybe someone who has the playscript can see what precedes and follows "Cool" and "Officer Krupke."
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?" -
cada123 — 13 years ago(July 29, 2012 07:00 PM)
I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that the song placements in the stage version were dictated by scene/costume changes.
I read something similar; not only that, but because there Were those changes, there would be "down time" in which the audience would sit there, between Acts and their conflicting emotions needed to be addressed - so that changes in emotions on stage would do that. (Something I do not understand, at All!) Whereas in the movie, which has but one intermission and no "down time" between Scenes and Acts, the tension builds and builds. And the songs therefore also need to build tension. (Which makes a lot more sense.) -
StrongRex — 13 years ago(July 30, 2012 08:49 PM)
Actually, without "I Feel Pretty" in the bridal shop scene, I can't see how there would be enough time for Tony to change out of his dance clothes into regular clothes!
I don't buy the changes in emotions for audiences either. The building of tension in stage shows was not a new thing; it has been going on for THOUSANDS of years worth of theatre. So that excuse for having Cool and Officer Krupke be where they are in the play is stupid. -
Agamemnon7 — 13 years ago(August 15, 2012 03:53 PM)
Oddly enough, the sequencing of COOL and GEE, OFFICER KRUPKE! works either way, but I do prefer it in the film. (AMERICA and TONIGHT are also reversed on screen, probably because the Sharks are now involved in AMERICA but need to be gone in time for Tony and Maria to be alone on the fire escape.)
The one glaring problem that Lehman truly cleaned up with his screenplay is almost never commented on. In the play, Tony promises Maria he will stop the rumble, joins Riff a few minutes later in the Quintet to sing about how he'll be there supporting the Jets in their fight against the Sharks, and then of course shows up to try to stop it. It's illogical sequencing in every way. In the film, Ice and Riff sing about the oncoming rumble without Tony. He makes his promise to Maria, sings only about Maria in the Quintet, and then shows up as planned to stop the fight. It makes a lot more sense. -
StrongRex — 13 years ago(August 28, 2012 06:48 PM)
The one glaring problem that Lehman truly cleaned up with his screenplay is almost never commented on. In the play, Tony promises Maria he will stop the rumble, joins Riff a few minutes later in the Quintet to sing about how he'll be there supporting the Jets in their fight against the Sharks, and then of course shows up to try to stop it. It's illogical sequencing in every way. In the film, Ice and Riff sing about the oncoming rumble without Tony. He makes his promise to Maria, sings only about Maria in the Quintet, and then shows up as planned to stop the fight. It makes a lot more sense.
Hmmm.
hmmmm
.
You know, you are absolutely right! I never thought of that. Of course, I always preferred the movie's interpretation of that scene anyway, but before you said that I didn't really care either way.