West Side Story

The singing and dancing were real highlights in this production. Chorus numbers were performed with high energy, and it was nice to hear all the harmonies. Choreography was quite complex at times, but performed with confidence and was thoroughly entertaining, in particular 'America' and the dance at the gym. The frenetic nature of the gym scene contrasted beautifully with the meeting of Tony and Maria, with the rest of the cast in excellent freezes. The 'Tonight' quintet towards the end of Act 1 also was a particular highlight, and we could hear every part. This is a show in which the narrative continues (and occasionally accelerates) through the songs, and it was good to see this being fully observed by this young cast, who stayed fully in character and continued their acting throughout the songs.

It can be difficult when directing youth groups to stay absolutely true to the show whilst giving the cast plenty of opportunity to perform. Here the Director had included characters in scenes they would not normally be in, with mixed success. Whilst the Shark Boys fitted in to 'America' well (and audiences are used to the film version, which features the boys in this number). I was less comfortable with the Jet girls taking part in 'Officer Krupke', which I felt was not true to the narrative.  I was also a little confused initially when some of the Jet girls appeared in 'America'. Whilst they had a costume change, they were still to recognisable as Jets from the previous scene. Perhaps some dark wigs would help with this?

The lighting really enhanced this production, with some lovely effects, in particular the balcony scene, and also at the end of One Hand One Heart. I felt that the dream sequence needed some more specialist lighting (and perhaps some smoke or dry ice) to make it clear that it was a dream; however, it was nice to see this performed by the Principals themselves, instead of stand-in dancers. Sound reproduction was good, and it was good to be able to hear all the lyrics above the band.

Scene changes took place in a near-blackout, and appeared to be performed by the cast. If this was the case, it would have been fine to have had them performed in light, and to perhaps incorporate them into the action or, as there was underscoring, to choreograph them in some way.

Costumes were outstanding. The Jets had colour co-ordinated T shirts and jeans in the opening scene and this was continued into the Gym scene, with the Jets and their girls in bold blocks of colour.  The girls dresses and underskirts were used well in the dances, and the boys looked suitably 'roughed up' after their fights. Wigs, hair and make up were all in period.

This was predominantly a very young cast to be performing such serious themes. They did so with great energy and conviction, but at times, perhaps, there needed to be more menace, for example, in the war council scene, in which I did not really get any sense of the hatred they felt for one another. However, the rumble was performed superbly, with an incredibly realistic knife fight which looked entirely natural i.e. not choreographed (although of course it was!). The rape scene was sensitively handled by the Director, taking place behind the counter so that it did not have to be too graphic. What did come across well was the friendship and camaraderie the various characters gained from the gangs, giving them a sense of belonging that was otherwise lacking in their lives. Pace was good throughout, and the final few scenes propelled us full throttle towards the tragic ending. which was performed with real emotion by the whole cast.

We have come to expect high standards from this company, and once again we weren't disappointed. Thank you for a lovely evening's entertainment.

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