West Side!

For our first wedding anniversary back in May, I copped tickets for the wife and I for the 50th anniversary staging of West Side Story at the Théâtre du Châtelet. The show was on sale six months in advance, meaning we just saw it two weekends ago. Believe it or not, I’ve never seen West Side Story in any incarnation, though my wife (French, raised in France) knows it through and through. And despite never having seen it, West Side Story is so deep seeded into American culture that of course I know numbers like “America,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Jet Song” by heart like probably everybody else.

Well, the French production was strong that Saturday night, directed by Joey McKneely of Broadway’s Smokey Joe’s Café, and these Parisian theatre houses always impress. West Side Story was my second play here, besides last year’s Looking for Joséphine at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique, which was kind of touch-and-go. (Both plays were in English, though West Side Story had French dialogue in a TickerTape window crawl above the stage.) We all know the story; it’s Romeo and Juliet set between Puerto Rican and Polish gangs in Manhattan during the 50s.

The question that lodged in my head once the night was over was: isn’t it interesting how, under certain circumstances, you’re allowed to bite someone else’s work wholesale (Shakespeare in this case) and get complete respect for “making it your own”? Not that I’m against that; it’s just food for thought.