West Side Story

I had forgotten what a demanding show West Side Story is. However, it soon came back to me from the first moment of this production.  Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is the story of a rivalry between two street gangs paving the way for heartbreak and tragedy.

The opening number with the Jets was so energetic and well-choreographed and was strongly performed by all the men on stage, what a pleasure it was to see so many ‘young men’ involved in this production, all creating characters you could associate with.

We were soon introduced to Tony, played by Brett Dewsbury and Maria, played by Josie Sim, the lead characters. Brett was as convincing as always, treating the audience to some wonderful tenor melodies. Josie was a new name to me, as soon as she appeared she looked the part, but when she began to sing…..Wow! What a voice, everything was crystal clear and we were listening to a beautiful soprano. From this moment we witnessed an array of soaring solos and duets from the two characters, staying in character throughout and maintaining their accents in very demanding songs.  They were completely believable.

These were well supported by Anita (Louise Hewitt) who not only delivered her songs with ease but also shone with her dance moves, Adam Merrall as Riff, and Jonathan Blake as Bernardo were rival gang members, both showing great presence on stage. I must also make mention of ‘The Adults!’, you know who you are, all giving performances which demonstrated experience and their ability to work within a youthful company.

The choreography was lovely to watch, everyone on stage embraced the moves and made the musical numbers even more spectacular, the ballet scene was very imaginative and looked stunning. The orchestra was very well balanced and not only complemented the vocals but also added another depth to the performance. Alex Priestley did a first-class job directing the music, some with very challenging rhythms, but no-one seemed phased at all. The scenery and props were very effective, and the scene changes happened without a hitch, sometimes going unnoticed. The sound was very well balanced between actors and orchestra, so often this is a contentious issue but certainly not in this instance.

All in all, this was an extremely professional production, well directed by Tim Jones. BMTC have an excellent reputation, and this was certainly another feather in the cap for them. Congratulations to everyone involved.

 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.