West side story
This is my all-time favourite musical. I grew up knowing
all the songs and dreaming of finding love like this. When something is so precious to you, it is a
little nerve wracking to see how it translates to the stage.
I first saw West Side story on stage 16 years ago when I
took my 10 year old son to a matinee performance. I had been blown away with the choreography. It was something that he and I shared for
years.
So when I heard last year that it was on stage again. I knew
I had to go. I suggested it to my
youngest son and my older son overheard and said he wanted to come and see it
again. So it was an extra special night
that I went to see West Side Story accompanied by both my sons.
I was again worried it wouldn’t stand up to my high
expectations. I had no need to worry.
The opening scene was very true to the film and was
excellently executed. It really set the
scene of the show. The dancing and
chorography was outstanding. I cannot
say enough how amazing it really is.
I really liked the dance interpretation of how it would
be if Tony and Maria ran away together. Everyone
was dressed in white and through the power of dance it showed no matter what,
they could not escape what has happened. It was a fantastic scene and one that would be
deserving of time on Strictly.
The outstanding numbers for me were Gee Officer Krupkee,
which is fun and well done. It was true
to the film and worked well. I also
loved how they call came together for tonight at the end of the first act. Good use of lighting and set gave it
atmosphere.
All the performers were excellent, but their were two who
stood out to me. Maria, played by Katie
Hall, was a perfect Natalie Wood and had a good accent as well as being able to
sing, dance and act. Her performance was
so powerful I was in tears for much of it. Absolutely fabulous. The other outstanding performance was that of
Anita, played by Djalenga Scott. She was fabulous, giving energy, character and
charm to the part. The girls definitely stole
the show.
Others that deserve a mention are Action, played by
Matthew Hawksley and Anybodys, played by Jessica Fiala. They both gave a true reflection of the roles
and made the characters believable.
For the traditionalist there were some changes I was not
that happy with. America is one of my
favourite songs. But it relies on the
dynamics of the men versus women. Unfortunately
someone decided that the change of clothes for the men was more important so
they did it with one girl verses the rest of the girls. This is just wrong. It needs the men. It needs the original words. It needs not to be changed. I was very disappointed with this rendition,
not because of the effort of the cast, but because it really needs the men to
be true to the story.
The other issue with the show is the order of the songs. At the end of the first act they had already
stabbed and killed each other but gee officer krupkee and I feel pretty were in
the second act. This meant you were sad
when you should be happy. It wasn’t right to move the order around as it does
change the atmosphere of the show.
This is no fault of the cast, but of the director and
producer of the show. It is a shame as
otherwise this show was perfect. And I
rarely call anything perfect!
None of this detracts from the excellent performance of
the actors/dancers/singers. They were all very professional and delivered an
outstanding performance.
If you can get a ticket…go. West Side Story is amazing
and I sure hope it isn’t another 16 years before I see it live again!
