"It's a bit like a battlefield. So, no, it's a normal process, in this case a very intense one." You know? After five weeks in the rehearsal hall, the last run through before moving to the theater. “And yet this is the timeless story written by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim. "It's a huge challenge, because everything has to be on the highest level, the singing, the dancing, and the acting. Veteran actor Ben Cook, who played Riff, the leader of the Jets, dislocated his shoulder and had to leave the show six weeks before opening, giving 22-year-old castmate, Dharon Jones, a newcomer to Broadway, the break of a lifetime. We started rolling our cameras this past October in a manhattan dance studio. The core of this story remains relevant.” So follows the vision for this take: “The Sharks are definitely Hispanic-rooted,” she continues, “but Hispanics of today are maybe not the same Hispanics as they were 50 years ago.” And van Hove and De Keersmaeker also cast a new lens on the Jets, who are not all white and of European descent as in the original. Directed by Ivo van Hove; Choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker; Associate Director: Daniel Raggett; Associate Choreographer: Clinton Stringer; Assistant Director: Osheen Jones It's bracing, vital and sublime. It is directed by Ivo van Hove, with choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. De Keersmaeker had to scale up her dancers' movements to fit the bigger space and giant images. ... Director and choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer … Music: Leonard Bernstein. Thirty-three of the 50 cast members are making their Broadway debuts. "No snapping of the fingers," van Hove said. Director: Ivo van Hove. West Side Story on its own is a classic and also the dance choreography is classic, and we don't have any intention of making something that is against Jerome Robbins. They took us to what they call a secret set. Unlike previous revivals, this West Side takes place today—just like the 1957 West Side looked at its today. So is this a theater, or a movie set? The Belgian director says the story is universal. "The challenges were high. It's stripped down, fast and gritty - a "'West Side Story' for the 21st century." "We start to shape it together with the dancers." View Comments Broadcast associate, Emilio Almonte. Running time: ONE HOUR, 45 MIN. "The next day you go up and you have production meetings with the crew and you go work with the actors. ", "Am I always successful? "This is your first Broadway production," Whitaker said to De Keersmaeker. Imagine my delight upon learning that for the show’s 2020 Broadway revival, its helmsman, experimental Belgian director Ivo van Hove, had insisted on brand-new choreography, made by the brilliant postmodern minimalist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, a fellow Belgian. Broadway Theatre. “In ballet, you’re constantly celebrating vertical posture and defying gravity on extension,” she says. Updating this American masterpiece was his idea. "Why does it have to be either?" The first notes of Leonard Bernstein's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics stirred treasured memories. But we have a revival of our look at the new production of "West Side Story." Directed by Ivo Van Hove. "I mean am I supposed to replace him in the show? Two days later, on November 18, the production went uptown to the Broadway Theatre. I did everything possible with my team.". "They really enlarge the movement, but that's not the way people-- young people dance these days.". It's Van Hove's first Broadway musical. It seemed the show was  snake bit. "We were here one day when you were rehearsing the bedroom scene upstairs," Whitaker said to van Hove later. The first time in the theater van Hove rehearsed the bedroom scene when Maria learns Tony has killed her brother, it was like directing a movie. 45min. "I think we're managing our way into it," Rudin said. The Tony nominee on creating the intricate movement for, The Tony nominee talks his musical theatre debut, re-imagining the work of. Shereen Pimentel and Isaac Powell with correspondent Bill Whitaker, "West Side Story" lyrics still embarrass Sondheim, Why "I Feel Pretty" is not in the "West Side Story" Revival, California Privacy/Information We Collect. As the show evolved, we saw as much drama offstage as on. Van Hove tapped choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, his friend and fellow Belgian, to design more contemporary, street influenced movement. A dragon? That's not the only big change. And of course you know that it will be a journey. That's-- that's 'West Side Story,'" Rudin said. I'm not a general," De Keersmaeker said. Opened on Broadway: February 20, 2020. "So when the audience walks in, that's what they're going to see?" And it's true. "West Side Story" is getting an update. "It's both." I mean, this seems like a grueling process." An updated West Side Story - watch two videos below . It’s All About Sounds, Sergio Trujillo and the Musical He Was Born to Choreograph. "Fuzzling with your material?" Something else they had to fix: the rain. West Side Story is on stage at the Broadway Theater (1681 Broadway New York, NY, between 52nd and 53rd Street.) With Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez. It's-- a lot at stake. Van Hove tapped choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, his friend and fellow Belgian, to design more contemporary, street influenced movement. After tryouts in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia beginning in August 1957, the original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, 1957, to positive reviews. "I love that," van Hove said. He blocked it with the actors and cameras, then went down to the theatre to watch it unfold on the video wall. "I was at the birth of this thing," van Hove said. "This is a different animal." But it's been a fascinating toolkit to play with. Powell said. Their young cast reflects America today. The cast starred Larry Kert as Tony, Carol Lawrence as Maria, Chita Rivera as Anita and David Wintersas Ba… With the upcoming Broadway revival, choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker makes her theatrical debut and thrusts her singular contemporary dance into the Broadway fray. Director van Hove and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker have admired each other’s work since the 1980s, but “West Side Story” marks their first collaboration. ALL NEW CHOREOGRAPHY BY ANNE TERESA DE KEERSMAEKER . And be it 1957 or 2019, Robbins or De Keersmaeker, that will never change. I'm not like, 'Cha, cha, cha, chack.'" She comes from contemporary dance, not ballet; European culture, not American—though in the ’80s she studied at the dance department of NYU. West Side Story. Maybe a dragon." You know, it took us a while to bring all the elements, you know, in a perfect balance. West Side Story, in theory, contrasts all of this. "It's happening in real time," Powell said. De Keersmaeker said. ‘West Side Story’: Theater Review The Broadway Theater; 1700 seats; $199 top. "There must be things about this that just scare you? West Side Story transposes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the gang-ridden streets of 1950s Manhattan, dominated by the Sharks and the Jets. Kathryn Burns, the award-winning choreographer behind. I think what he did was really stupid." "It's up to you, you know, to judge that. We were given unprecedented  access to the making  of the new production. Then protests erupted over Amar Ramasar, a dancer with the New York City Ballet who plays the leader of the Sharks. The scenery is an enormous, black wall that opens up to reveal two hidden sets. It's video on a scale Broadway has never seen. "Sometimes. You have to dance at the same time,"van Hove said. "You take notes on everything," Whitaker said to van Hove. Lyricist Stephen Sondheim wanted “West Side Story” to be the first Broadway musical to use the F-word (in the song “Gee, Officer Krupke”), but it was changed after the song was played for producers. "And you have to behave like a general." "No, no, no, no," van Hove said. In this version the Jets are not all white. "You know, how a number has to end, how you have to build tension, you know? They say you wanted the bicycle. West Side Story Broadway REVIEW: ... February 20, 2020 09:00 PM Advertisement. “With the history of contemporary dance, post-modern dance, we came to a sense of reality that defying gravity is the history from [a crawling] child to somebody who’s growing up from animal to upright person.”, If Robbins’ dance floated up, De Keersmaeker’s shifts down and side to side. West Side Story on Broadway. Opened Feb. 20, 2020. Of course there are bound to be bumps," Powell said. Ramasar was initially fired by the New York City Ballet. 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", So is the veteran producer concerned at all that that video image will overwhelm your actors on stage? © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Payroll Clerk Craig Salstein ... associate choreographer Harry Shuluk ... stand in jets utility Dennis Smith ... additional set medic Ramona Wong ... construction accountant Mathias Luque ... production assistant (uncredited) THANKS. "The arbitrator found that there had been no firing offense," producer Scott Rudin said. It's just not that. "That's it. “The world has changed, America has changed, New York has changed, the notion of what identity and community means has changed, the relationship between men and women has changed,” says De Keersmaeker. I've patience. "It's huge. Directed by Steven Spielberg. A Broadway revival of West Side Story began previews on December 10, 2019 and officially opened on February 20, 2020 at the Broadway Theatre. March 2, 2020 ... University of Chicago Press, 2016) in celebration of the new Broadway production of West Side Story that opened at The Broadway Theater on February 20, 2020. "There's a camera set up in the bedroom," Pimentel said. "Would you call it an animal? 22 July 2019, 13:45 | Updated: 22 July 2019, 14:02 ... A first look at the choreography for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. "I'm not a general. Exclusive photos of the five nominees for Best Choreography as they reveal the inspiration behind their visions. As we first reported this February, days before it opened and weeks beforeCOVID-19 temporarily shut it down, a new team of creative artists has staged a radical reinvisioning of the classic musical. Yeah, now peddle." Likewise, De Keersmaeker’s movement marks a vast departure from the ballet-rooted original of director-choreographer Jerome Robbins—which is what van Hove and producer Scott Rudin had in mind when they hired her. In Italian, they say, 'Hai voluto la bicicletta.' "And kinks that need to be ironed out.". Arms slice through the air, bodies drop to the floor, anger and energy pulse traceably through the body. I'm not gonna do that," Rudin said. a serpent? Jerome Robbins, Montgomery Clift, and the Origins of “West Side Story” How a hit Broadway musical was born in New York’s post-war bohemia. Four flights up above the stage, out of sight of the audience, in what was once a dressing room,  now is Maria's bedroom. Everything scares me about this," van Hove said with a laugh. Runtime: 1hr. Picture: Splash News ... Ariana DeBose has been cast as Anita in the 2020 remake of West Side Story. Tony and Maria are the star-crossed lovers. Two Latin dance consultants were brought in to add more authenticity and Broadway flair to De Keersmaeker's choreography. "It's a black box, fully exposed, guts and all it's not "West Side Story" of 1957. So that's out? Curtains won't rise again before the new year. A Radical Restaging of “West Side Story” In the new Broadway production, avant-garde choreography incorporates salsa and hip-hop. But therein lies the new and the provocative—and the guiding principle of her choreography: “harmonizing opposites.”, In her movement vocabulary for the show, she harmonizes the vertical and horizontal. Rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, become the Montagues and the Capulets. The Tony nominee discusses working with Latino royalty, authenticity through dance and what exactly he looks for in that audition room. Book by Arthur Laurents; Based on a Conception by Jerome Robbins; Music by Leonard Bernstein; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Music orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick, Leonard Bernstein, Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal; Musical Director: Alexander Gemignani. I think finally it turned out well. Continuing the recent influx of contemporary dancemakers working on Broadway, De Keersmaeker is taking on West Side Story. She approaches dance first through form and shape; she’s accustomed to “small constellations” of dancers. Will this be successful? "That's out," De Keersmaeker said. PERFORMANCES WILL BEGIN DECEMBER 10, 2019 OPENING NIGHT SET FOR FEBRUARY 6, 2020 ... West Side Story, will return to Broadway in a new production directed by Tony Award winner Ivo van Hove; and for the first time ever in the United States, will feature all-new choreography by the internationally acclaimed Anne Teresa De … They're recent Latino immigrants. De Keersmaeker told us originally that she is not a general. So that's a very difficult thing when you're very young and ha-- and when you don't have a lot of experience. West Side Story Opens: February 20. Van Hove is animated, decisive;  De Keersmaeker calls herself a patient collaborator. This aspiring choreographer reveals his process behind creating a new story to the song everyone has in their head. They're ready, after all the blood, sweat and tears. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, orchestrated by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, and produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, with lighting designed by Jean Rosenthal. Whitaker asked De Keersmaeker. "Is that what they were doing?" It's not up to me. Choreographer: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. She blends Robbins’ classical style with floorwork signature of her own and a “presence of what dancing of today is—globalized culture of hip-hop, street dancing, house dancing.” Simultaneously, De Keersmaeker tethers herself to the music, “my main partner.”. "I feel like a fish in the ocean, you know? You at one point said, 'Everything is wrong. You can be inspired by other people but not stealing from them, I think." Lin-Manuel Miranda ... thanks You know, with clear leaders being Ivo and I.". Twenty-five of them projecting images onto the wall designed to intensify the action. A deluge that soaks the actors and sometimes musicians in the orchestra pit. Picture: Splash News The West Side Story actors are joined by an … Copyright © 2021 CBS Interactive Inc.All rights reserved. And it's-- it's teamwork. Book: Arthur Laurents. "Those dresses are very beautiful," De Keersmaeker said. Jerome Robbins (October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theater producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.. A lion? "I don't like when they start to fuzzle with your material," De Keersmaeker said. Whitaker asked. He's been named in a civil suit alleging he participated in an exchange of explicit pictures of female dancers, which he contests. And-- and the ocean is a dangerous place to be sometimes, you know, but also great place to be. Whitaker asked Scott Rudin, the money and power behind this production. "Jumping into this American classic," correspondent Bill Whitaker said in a conversation with van Hove. The Casting in the revival of West Side Story. "Yep," Pimentel said. An unrelated stage revival of West Side Story, directed by Tony winner Ivo van Hove and choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, is slated to premiere on Broadway in 2020. “We really chose for inclusion of the American population today.”, READ: Stage Directions: Broadway’s Ivo van Hove Shares the Childhood Story of How He Became a Director. So, I mean, I'm flexible. Choreographer: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. "Also... you have to be able to act. Broadway is dark. Copyright 1991-2020 © Playbill Inc. All Rights Reserved. Central to van Hove's reimagining: cameras everywhere. We saw some of those kinks. That delayed opening night by two weeks. So hai voluto la bicicletta. The calm in the middle of the storm: Ivo van Hove. Van Hove and his choreographer, Belgian postmodernist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, vowed to come up with a “West Side Story” for a new century and a new audience. the whole vision has been realized. "I know exactly what I wanted it to be. “The DNA of West Side Story is how music, dance, and theatre come together,” she says. But I would be lying if I say that it went, like, smoothly like this, you know?" Among his numerous stage productions were On the Town, Peter Pan, High Button Shoes, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Bells Are Ringing, West Side Story, Gypsy, and Fiddler on the Roof.Robbins was a five-time Tony Award … Ivo van Hove opens his video-enhanced, Jerome Robbins-less "West Side Story," a bombardment of sight and sound. Now, three of the most daring theater-makers of our time — director Ivo van Hove (A View From the Bridge and The Crucible), choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, and designer and frequent Van Hove collaborator Jan Versweyveld — offer a radical, thrilling new interpretation of this iconic work, with extraordinary dancing, breathtaking vision, and 23 young, brilliantly gifted performers … A lot is different this time around: Jerome Robbins' original choreography is out, as are some iconic parts of the show, like Maria's "I Feel Pretty" solo. ", Isaac Powell and Shereen Pimentel play the doomed lovers, Tony and Maria. I don't have so much experience about that. That is the task before the Belgian choreographer and her director, Ivo Van Hove, for their upcoming Broadway revival, which begins previews December 10 at the Broadway Theatre. No. What kind of animal? And I'm really happy with that. Did you ever have any questions through that, about the use of the video like that?". West Side Story on Broadway. "Because it's not in the score. Choreography doesn’t make this reimagined “West Side Story” breathe. Edited by Sean Kelly. "Whittled down to one hour and forty-five minutes, West Side Story – with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins — has grown exceedingly dark and mislaid some of its moving parts in the new Broadway revival from edgy Belgian director Ivo van Hove. The songs and Arthur Laurents' story are the same, but the dancing is all new. Seamlessly? And now they ride into the uncertainty of opening night. It's a battlefield," De Keersmaeker said. Photographs by Collier Schorr (Can you bear to lose “I Feel Pretty”?) "Yeah. We'll see," van Hove continued. "So in the play," Whitaker asked, "you will be running up and down the stairs to come to your room?" Reviewed Feb. 13. De Keersmaeker responded while laughing. So much of this is wrong.' After 19 weeks,  the performances have been polished, the video fine-tuned, the dancing distinct. This was their vision. And the Sharks are not just Puerto Ricans. Choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. FB Tweet. Based on a conception by Jerome Robbins; Book by Arthur Laurents; Music by Leonard Bernstein; Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker; Directed by Ivo van Hove. by MICHAEL VAN DUZER [dropcap]West Side Story[/dropcap] blazed its way onto Broadway in 1957 and the American musical has never been the same. Isaac Powell, Tony, injured his knee and had to take a month off. When the original "West Side Story" opened in 1957 it caused a sensation with the innovative fusion of dance, music and theater - a reimagining of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. Sign up for exclusive discounts and save up to 50% on tickets! "The camera was out of focus, the actors were out of position, you were getting angry. "So how do you change something like America, the way she throws the dress around?" Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins. But Ivo van Hove, a Tony Award-winning director, known for his cutting-edge productions, promised something new: a more raw and raging "West Side Story.". Produced by Ruth Streeter and Kaylee Tully. "It's not easy to sing these songs. "But I am a dancer. You know? I don't excuse it. WEST SIDE STORY. "There are places where I think it still does slightly overwhelm, or kind of dwarf the actors, and some places where it's incredibly exciting that it's there. Her style is vastly different from the original, balletic dancing of director/choreographer Jerome Robbins, immortalized in the 1961 movie. The concept of adapting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as a contemporary story of youthful unrest and racial prejudice among gang members came from Jerome Robbins.. Arthur Laurents wrote the book, Leonard Bernstein composed the score and, earning … "He got reinstated. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. "Well, there is a certain codified language in Broadway," De Keersmaeker said. “The question is how to make West Side Story for the 21st century,” according to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. It is produced by Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen. Tickets and details . Her choreography captures the conflict at the core of West Side Story, but also that quest for harmony dreamed up by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Robbins. So now you have to-- you have to peddle. It's a lot of people. West Side Story's Ariana DeBose and David Alvarez dance on set of Steven Spielberg's remake. I made a choice of doing this. It's an invention of Jerome Robbins and we should respect that, you know? And of course everybody has an expectation." I know. Bill Whitaker reports on the new twists making their way to one of America's most iconic musicals. I knew it was not gonna be easy. With the upcoming Broadway revival, choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker makes her theatrical debut and thrusts her singular contemporary dance into the Broadway fray. Stephen Sondheim 's lyrics stirred treasured memories evolved, we saw as much drama offstage as.. The bigger space and giant images easy to sing these songs -- young people dance these days..! Offense, '' De Keersmaeker told us originally that she is not general. Certain codified language in Broadway, '' van Hove: Ivo van Hove tapped choreographer Anne Teresa De is... Much experience about that Story - watch two videos below actors were out of position, know! ’ re constantly celebrating vertical posture and defying gravity on extension, ” she says the of... 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