West Side Story

West Side Story is a musical inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story is set in 1950’s New York and is about the rivalry between two warring gangs, The Jets and The Sharks …

The direction by Mark Walker was brilliant, the staging and casting was perfect and the dramatic intensity was built-up and sustained throughout the performance. Musical director Barbara Hockey has expertly tackled what is probably one of the most difficult scores in musical theatre and along with her very talented orchestra gave excellent backing to the company. I only need three words to sum up the choreography by Katrina Ruffea - Stunning, Awesome and Amazing! What a winning combination these three artists are! Well done Mark, Barbara and Katrina!

There were some remarkable performances from the cast, particularly from Daniel Fortune as Tony and Lauren Jones as Maria, they both had amazing vocals and there was a beautiful chemistry between them and their duets were a joy to listen to. Josh Pugh gave an outstanding performance as Riff. Susie Pack as Anita and Luke Campbell Simcoe as Bernardo both gave excellent performances as did Jake Turner as Chino. With nearly thirty more cast members it is impossible to mention them all, however there were notable performances from Kevin Maltby (Acton), Martin Brown (Big Deal), Alan Galway (LT Schrank) and Carly Walker (Anybodys). Each cast member should be congratulated for giving such strong performances, making a very impressive line-up indeed!

West Side Story is a truly memorable musical and the Theats have done themselves proud! The production numbers were exceptional. I really enjoyed the Jet Song, Maria, Cool, One Hand One Heart, Tonight, I Feel Pretty, Somewhere and Gee Officer Krupkee. My particular favourite was America. The Ballet Sequence was amazing and the fight scenes were very realistic.

The set was outstanding and all the scene changes were executed perfectly. The costumes were all to a very high standard as were make-up and hair styles. The sound quality was excellent throughout the performance and the lighting was exceptionally good.

This was a faultless opening night of which the entire company should be very proud, and judging by the rapturous applause at the end was enjoyed by everyone. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                                                                                        NODA EAST MIDLANDS DISTRICT 7 REPRESENTATIVE.  

 

 

  

 

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