“West Side Story,” the stage and film musical inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” tragedy about two star-crossed lovers, is on track to be rebooted yet again, with filming slated to start in the summer of 2019. Hawaii native Kevin McCollum, a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, joins principal producer Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger in co-producing the revival for a new generation of viewers.
Admittedly, “West Side Story” was a classic film, which, like the movie version of “Oklahoma!” made me a fan of Broadway musicals. Back in the days of my youth, seeing the stage originals were out of reach; as an adult, I’ve seen updated productions in New York of these two theatrical evergreens.
For me, the film versions of “West Side Story” and “Oklahoma!” are so iconic, perhaps they shouldn’t be jump-started again. Like, would artists dare to update Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” or Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”? I think not.
Ansel Elgort, the star of “Baby Driver” and “The Fault in the Stars,” will portray Tony, founder and ex-member of the Jets. We can’t yet pass judgment, whether he can deliver “Tonight” and “Somewhere” in duets with Maria (not yet cast), the Puerto Rican woman who falls in love with him.
The Broadway original, with Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence debuted in 1957; the spin-off film, with Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood, in 1961. And don’t forget, Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno brought lasting memories as stage and film Anitas.
McCollum has had an enviable Broadway track record and his vision is dependable; his musical, “Something Rotten!,” presenting Shakespeare as author of the first-ever musical (versus mere prose), has been a hilarious stage triumph. So I have confidence this new project will deliver.
The script is by Tony Kushner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning wordsmith, who is adapting the original “West Side” authored by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim; Leonard Bernstein’s rich score has never tarnished with time. …
Reboots of brands are constant; the Bradley Cooper–Lady Gaga remake of the new “A Star Is Born” is the fourth, for instance. …
BUT A ‘MAGNUM’ REBOOT?
So … do we need the latest “Magnum P.I.,” the CBS procedural filming in our midst now, to reintroduce newbies/millennials to the TV sleuth that Tom Selleck created?
Hmmm, I think not. Jay Hernandez lacks the personality and swagger of Selleck, who was an unknown when he played Magnum from 1980 to 1988. He was gritty, with a macho mustache, wore orchid-print aloha shirts, and took that fancy-prancy red Ferrari on joyful rides. Hernandez probably will get comfy with those speeding vehicles, explosions and bro-on-the-go plots. But minus the aloha garb, ’stache and a self-deprecating sense of humor, he might as well be on “CSI: Miami.” (OK, that’s DOA already).
Surely, he knows his fate, if Hernandez has watched the previous seasons of “Hawaii Five-0,” a companion vehicle with bro-mance, cops chasing criminals, and unending explosions. Peter Lenkov, the reboot guru of CBS, is the honcho of both “Five-0” and “Magnum,” maximizing his productions with sharing rather than caring. Kimee Balmilero, who’s playing the medical examiner on “Five-0,” earned double-duty doing the same role on “Magnum,” a beneficiary of Lenkov’s goodwill. Begs a question, too, if Dennis Chun, Sgt. Duke Lukela on “Five-0,” will recur on “Magnum,” to amp up the Hawaii names and faces in the cast.
Besides eradicating the comma in the “Magnum P.I.” title, the producer again has been under fire, for the casting disparity of locals among the principals. Guy Aoki, a former Hawaii resident and the founding president of the watchdog group, MANAA (Media Action Network for Asian Americans), has challenged and questioned CBS and Lenkov about a fundamental reality: the ongoing lack of key Hawaii actors indicating a neglect of diversity in casting.
“Sadly, nothing’s changed almost 40 years,” said Aoki. “A cast of two whites (whites make up 30 percent of the state’s population), one Latino (7 percent) and one black (3 percent) does not in any way reflect the racial reality of Hawaii.” …
‘PHANTOM’ IS RETURNING
Broadway in Hawaii will present a new version of the longest-running Broadway musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” (with lyrics by Charles Hart), Aug. 7 to Sept. 1, 2019 at Blaisdell Concert Hall. The show is marking its 30th anniversary.
“Phantom,” with its iconic falling chandelier, has logged 12,800 performances since Jan. 26, 1988, at the Majestic Theatre in New York. Broadway in Hawaii also lists “The Illusionists” and “Rent” (celebrating its 20th anniversary) as part of its season. Visit broadwayinhawaii.com. …
And that’s “Show Biz.”
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
