FunQuest Summer Day Camp

I attended the production on Sunday at 2:00 expecting great things. Unfortunately I was mistaken. The director changed things around so much, that a lot of the cultural and historical significance was lost. For starters, the song America is supposed to be the Sharks men vs the women. The men sing about being back in Puerto Rico where they are in charge, and the women sing about being in America where they are more free. Right before the song began all of the men walked off stage and a lone female sang their parts. The song Gee, Officer Krupke was originally sung by Riff, the leader of the Jets, but the song was moved after the rumble, where Riff was killed. The song was sung by the remaining members of the Jets. The real problem with this is that the song is very upbeat and the Jets just lost their leader and a good friend to all the members. They wouldn't be happy at that time. The production is supposed to be very happy in the beginning, then after the rumber it becomes more depressing. The song Somewhere is supposed to be Tony finding redemption in Maria's arms and that somewhere is a place for the two of them to live in peace. Now it's a brand new scene where the character Anybodys, or Kiddo, sings most of the song and the song is about how theirs a place for all of the cast to find peace, not just Tony and Maria. The backdrop actually blinded me for a few seconds because the house is dark and the screen becomes bright white very quickly. A famous quote from the play is in the song I Feel Pretty, "I feel pretty and witty and gay", but unfortunately gay is no longer p.c. so it was taken out. I was so shocked that they changed this that I forgot what they changed it too. An interesting change was that some of the songs the Sharks sing were changed to Spanish and some of their conversations were changed to Spanish, but unfortunately I couldn't understand what was being said and I don't think I was the only one in the Audience who doesn't have complete comprehension of the Spanish language. Finally the at the end, after Chino shoots Tony, the remaining Jets and Sharks lift Tony's body up and carry it off stage, signifying pease or a truece between the rival gangs, but in this production the final curtain dropped with everyone standing around Tony's body. It was a very short Act II. I know that this production is no longer running in Austin, but I had to speak my mind and try to warm people. For people who have seen the original or the movie, this is not the same West Side Story and you have the chance of being very disappointed. For people who haven't seen it before, you may enjoy it, but know that a lot of the cultural, psycological, and historical aspects of this show are no longer in it. Thank you for your time.