West Side Story

With the curtain up, the orchestral Prologue led straight into the Jet Song and the violent brawl between the Jets and the Sharks and these were tasters of what was to come. This dramatic and lengthy opening number set the tone and pace for the show, the fast movement of the rival factions being well choreographed and played by an almost equal number of the opposing gangs and the violence realistically but safely portrayed. The NY Police Department in the forms of Officer Krupke (Blair Cruikshank) and Lieutenant Schrank (Colin Johnston) appeared just in time to break up the fight. Graeme Wallace as Riff and Antony Carter as Bernardo gave excellent performances as the tough and uncompromising Gang Leaders of the Jets and the Sharks respectively, Kevin McGuire taking the impossible role of Tony as the determined but ultimately doomed peacemaker between the Gangs.
Gillian Gray was excellent in the role of Maria (Bernardo’s sister) – with undertones of Carmen and Juliet – handling so well the dramatic highs and delicate lows of Maria’s situation, torn as the character is between two opposing sets of values. Lindsey Ross as Bernardo’s girlfriend gave a fine interpretation of the role as did Craig Ledgerwood as Bernardo’s friend. Alastair McColl played the essential and steady Doc, the owner of the drugstore and meeting place and David Sturgeon took the role of the Social Worker Glad Hand. The Jet Girls and the Shark Girls, too numerous to name in this report completed the cast.
The musical score is, of course, superb with its challenges for the choreographer and the Company’s own dance troupe. It also has some songs that have become classics in their own right such as “I feel Pretty”, “Tonight” and “Somewhere” in addition to the opportunities to “showcase” the orchestra in the Prologue and in the dance sequence at the Gym and the Rumble scene. But the scene with the most highly charged emotion was kept to the last when Tony is shot by Chino and dies in Maria’s arms. The Finale was so well produced and acted that it left the audience emotionally drained to such an extent that play-out music would have been quite inappropriate. The final curtain was enough. The Saturday matinee which I attended was one of the best performances that I have seen of this show. Many of the audience simply filed out quietly and in deep thought – just as they should have done.                                         

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