West Side Story

Another warm, friendly welcome was waiting for myself and my wife at the Forum, Northallerton for a sell out performance of ‘West Side Story’ brought to audiences by Crash Bang Wallop Theatre Youth Company.

The company made a brave decision to take on the challenges of this classic musical but if all the other audience reactions were like ours on the night we were there, then all the cast and production team will realise that the risks were worth it.

Dan Brookes certainly put his own stamp on this production with some excellent pieces of staging and there some very slick pieces choreography devised by Emma Greenhalgh. I particularly liked the settings for ‘Somewhere’ and the ‘Ballet Sequence’. The big ensemble numbers of ‘America’ and ‘Dance at the Gym’ had the right amount of aggression and attack.

Accents are not easy to maintain throughout a performance but there were no problems for either Roisin Dunkley (Maria) or Lauren MacDonald (Anita). Roisin managed to switch her emotions perfectly and her singing was a delight. She duetted well with Lauren who was outstanding in her role and also with Toby Davidson (Tony) who was well cast in his difficult role. There were strong contributions from Joe Morton (Riff), George Manley (Bernardo), Seb Carr-Smith (Chino) and Grace Crawford had the audience eating out of her hand with her stunning vocals of ‘Somewhere’.

There was good support from Erin Jones (Doc), Eoin Reilly (LT. Shranke), Jacob Bennett-Hogg (Officer Krupke) and not forgetting all the gang members and dancers. Everyone had their own unique role to play in this production.

The large 16 piece orchestra was well controlled by Conductor Alan Owens and there was always a good balance between the stage and orchestra. Costumes, lighting and sound all added to the success of the evening.

Well done to everyone involved and I look forward to coming back soon to see your next production.

Thank you!

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