West Side Story

West Side Story is set in the mid-1950`s in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang who `owned the street before the PRs came along`. 

The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang leader Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. As the story develops, both audience and performer are taken through the whole gamut of feelings, ending ultimately with death - but with death comes hope. This re-imagined representation of Romeo and Juliet, with its dark themes of racism, hate, prejudice and intolerance is as relevant today as it was when the show was first performed.

From its first note until the Final Curtain, West Side Story continues to be one of the greatest love stories ever committed to stage, with a musical score to match. With many of the numbers, the melody is omitted, and it feels that Bernstein is using the vocal line as an added instrument, rather than a separate entity, such is the marvel of the score, adding an extra dimension, more complexity and added difficulty for the performers.

The opening sequence/overture  shows the passage of time from when the Jets ruled the streets, the introduction to Bernardo, the building up of the Sharks gang during each scrape until they are of equal number, sharing their `turf, ending in Bernardo piercing A-Rab`s ear and a brawl breaking out, only to be broken up by Lieutenant Schranke, a worn down tired cop, who, in his eyes had seen his neighbourhood go downhill and crime go up on account of the `gold teeth` as he calls them, and Officer Krupke, a beat cop.

On the night I saw it, Alec Taylor (Tony), on occasion struggled with the incredibly demanding score, relaxing more vocally once he got into the duets/ ensemble numbers, yet playing the role with the enthusiasm and  conviction. Confident performances by Matthew Swan (Riff) and Santiago Acevedo (Bernardo)  were well  supported by David Lowe(Chino), William Patrick (Action), Duncan Ryan (Diesel), Adam Bardsley (Snowboy), Owen Holland (Big Deal), Jordan Kennedy (A-Rab) and Samuel Wicks (Baby John). Jordan and Samuel (A-Rab and Baby John) threatening to steal the show with their excellent characterisations, and their reluctant acceptance of being “rank and file”. Kirsty Johnson deserves a mention for her spirited performance of Anybodys, the tomboy Jet wannabe, as does Mandie Doherty for Rosalia in “America”.

Catherine Andrews played the leading role of Maria, the love struck sister of Bernardo- a great performance, excellent singing , bringing the youth and playfulness essential to the character yet contrasting it well with the highly emotional ending to the show.
For me, Ashleigh Hartin`s portrayal of Anita was the standout performance of the night, a superb all-round strong, emotional and passionate portrayal of her complex character, never once letting up with the accent nor her sassy demeanour.

This show is all about the dynamics between the characters- Jets and Sharks/Tony and Maria/Bernardo and Anita etc but arguably, Maria and Anita have the best emotional arc to play with. From their playfulness and giddy excitement in the Bridal Shop to their “A boy like that/I have a love”, these two did a fantastic job of conveying their feelings in incredibly emotional scenes.

The `adult` roles of Schranke, Krupke, Glad Hand and Doc were suitably played by Simon `Yakkers Yaxley, John Savage, John Gill and Bob Bailey Whilst I understand that the fight scenes have to be choreographed with pulled punches so that nobody gets hurt, I did feel that Doc`s slap to bring Tony back to reality should have been exactly that, a slap, not only bringing Tony back down to earth, but the audience as well- after all, it`s only a slap, faking it doesn`t have the same effect.

“Somewhere”, originally “Voice of a girl” subsequently “Girl”, was sung by Claire Savage and James Shields. Whilst this was sung beautifully, having them onstage (for me), detracted slightly from the storytelling of the Ballet/Dream/Nightmare Sequence- having it as an offstage voice, rather than on, would have added more to the ethereal quality of the sequence, which, in itself was well done.

Everybody played their part in this production, too many to mention individually- Sharks, Shark Girls and Jets Girls- You done good Buddy Boys.

You can`t attempt West Side Story without great choreography, Holly Brown had obviously worked the LADOS cast really hard to ensure the physicality, strength and urgency within the piece are executed well. This is something which is difficult when you have non dancers in the cast. Holly`s creativity showed skill in being able to aid the mixture of abilities without making it obvious, concentrating on the right moment to “set the dancers free” without deterring from the plot. This was achieved greatly in the “America”, “Cool” and “Officer Krupke” numbers.

The excellent orchestra played under the baton of  Musical Director Angela Potter, who brought out the best from the experienced musicians making the difficult Bernstein sound, at times, easy.
Direction under Producer/Director Suzanne Ward and Director Kevin Ward was first rate- each role having their own individual characteristics, and whilst on stage being fully engaged in either what was going on with others, or within their own key groupings.

The production requires a number of settings in which the story unfolds. LADOS went for a simple, composite set on two levels, climbable platforms and wall- using additional associated furniture and props to indicate the various areas where the action was taking place, with lighting enhancing the piece. I must commend the Stage Crew-scene changes were handled with efficiency, allowing the story to flow.  If I have a gripe, it would be that the knives could have had a bit more weight to them, so that when they`re dropped, they don`t sound like “plastic retractable knives”, also Chino`s gun……….at least Woody knows where to find one for his holster should he need to.

The lighting and sound were excellent, enhancing every scene perfectly- long shadows, cool blues and striking reds in the “Tonight” quintet, timed to perfection-without this level of detail, it`s just a show, with it, it`s a picture brought to life.

This was a really good production of West Side Story, thank you LADOS for inviting me, and for your hospitality.
 

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