“West Side Story”

*** 1/2  One of the hardest parts of producing a play is trying to bring something to the stage that will meet the anticipation of the audiences served. This is quite difficult when doing a classic such as “West Side Story”, and even harder when one thinks about the amazing movie that everyone is quite familiar with. I have said, over and over, that every time one sees a production of a play ( in particular, a musical), one must go into the theater with an open mind and think of this production as your first. If you do this, you will find it far more enjoyable.

“West Side Story” is not a typical musical. First of all, the book by Arthur Laurents ( based on a story by William Shakespeare) with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and fully conceived by Jerome Robbins, is indeed a masterpiece that is unique in style and story. The story is a “Romeo & Juliet” ( thus the reference to Shakespeare) love story. Unlikely lovers, who no matter how they feel can never be together. This is a musical that has wonderful choreography (Clayton Cross & Isa Ramirez) that, at times, is more ballet than typical Broadway Musical dance steps. I must say, the choreography is “stunning”.

The direction by Sasha Gerritson on a wonderful set by Bob Knuth allows the story to move quickly from scene to scene, and the 24-piece orchestra under the direction of Justin Kono makes the audience feel the music and the mood of the story. The lighting ( Andrew Meyers) and sound (Stephanie Farina) are perfect, and the costumes (Kuhn again) are almost perfect. I think I would have liked a little more Jets vs Sharks look. NgaSze Chan’s props were quite fitting, and the Intimacy & violence choreography by Nick Sandys, was, as always, perfect.

Now, let’s get to the production, story and performances. The story is quite simple. We are in New York in the 1950’s. Puerto Ricans are starting to take over and gangs are forming. The New Yorkes ( in this case, Polish people) are protecting their turf. Here it is 75-plus years later and hate is still strong. In this story, Bernardo (Emmanuel Ramirez), the leader of the Sharks, has brought his sister, Maria (played to perfection by Isabella Ruano), to New York to marry his number 2 man, Chino ( Kameron Rojas-Schueneman). When he takes her to the high school dance, her eyes meet the eyes of Tony (deftly handled by Luke Nowakowski), who is a member of the Jets, the rival gang.

Tony and Maria are drawn to each other in a way that  is very special, and  Tony promises Maria that he will intercede the rumbles and fighting so that both groups can live in peace and harmony. Of course, this is not what happens, The “rumble” become a fight and during the fight, Tony’s best friend, Riff well played by Connor Ripperger) is killed. Tony avenges his death, killing Bernardo, and of course, Chino must have his revenge. That is all I can say.

The ensemble may not look like the movie version or major productions that you may have seen in the past, but I found them to be strong in many ways. I loved the chorus of ladies that worked with Anita ( Pauleth Jauregui) in the “America” song. The Jets doing ” Gee Officer Krupke” in the second act were terrific, and the love songs between Ruano and Nowakoski were radiant. The opening number ballet sets the tone for this 2 1/2 hour production ( there is one 15 minute intermission) and my congratulations to the entire ensemble for not only their acting, dancing and singing, but they are also part of the crew in oving set pieces around to keep the action flowing.

“West Side Story” will continue thru  – Aug 30th with performances as follows: