My friend Cyn had a hard time booking good seat tickets for the West Side Story, which had just started its run last week. According to her, most shows are almost fully booked. She finally found three P1,000 seats but we were located near the back. I was quite excited to see how Christian Bautista would measure up as "THE" leading man… and in a theatrical play, to say the least. I read somewhere that the show's producer Audie Gemora took a long time to stage this play because this play entails a lot from the actors. The actors have to be good singers, dancers and actors all at the same time. All in all, it was a good show but somehow, it did not possess that "WOW" factor.
There's definitely no doubt about Christian's singing prowess but his acting was still very amateurish. He's like being in an acting workshop and failed to pull the audience in. The crying parts did not tug at my heartstrings at all! But then again, for a first timer playing such a demanding part… he was almost in every scene so one can just imagine all the lines, lyrics, steps, blockings that he has to remember… he was good enough.
Karylle sang beautifully but her Puerto Rican accent was too confusing at times. Cyn commented that maybe Joanna Ampil might be a better actress. But I guess we will never find out since I don't think I can get Boss D to watch the show again. He almost fell asleep while watching!!!
I also had a hard time understanding the dialogue. At times the actors sound like they were speaking with English, Spanish and Filipino accents all rolled into one. Sound system in the Meralco theater was also poor as there was a constant static sound coming out from the speakers.
For me, the star of the show was Anita, played by Pam G. She's absolutely awesome! (But Boss D said that sometimes she sound Transylvanian than Puerto Rican.) Gian Magdangal was also perfect as Riff. And of course, musical direction under Gerard Salonga is as always, flawless!!!
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