i saw west side story at the stanley theatre yesterday. it was excellent, for the most part. however, the young woman who played maria in the play feigned the most horrendous puerto rican accent i have ever heard. she sounded more like a drunken filipino fob with a cold. and her chemistry with tony was unconvincing; they lacked the chemistry natalie wood and richard beymer had in the oscar-winning 1961 film (which i actually rewatched when i got home from the play). i suppose i am just so used to wood’s classic beauty and beymer’s pretty-boy good looks after watching that movie for the umpteenth time with my sister.

the tony in the stanley theatre was short and rather old-looking compared to the terrible maria; he appeared more of a rabid pedophile than a doting paramour. i really did enjoy his rendition of “maria”, though. i’ve always loved that song.

the rest of the cast (especially the woman who played anita) were spectacular, despite the two principle characters’ somewhat lacking performances. and riff was notably hot. “tonight” and “somewhere” were well done, as well as the more comedic “gee, officer krupke”.

the entire premise of west side story intrigues me: the jets versus the sharks, anglos versus immigrants. it makes me want to dive into a time machine and join a 1950s gang. you know, but be the one who is wise beyond my years and gets everyone to stop fighting with my use of martin luther king-esque speeches. but then i realize that it’s just a musical and that i am quite the lamer.