West Side Story Here Until August 20th

Sarah Rodgers, the acclaimed, Vancouver actor/director and 8 year veteran of Theatre Under the Stars, seized the moment and skillfully directed Bernstein and Sondheim’s 1957 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical classic, Westside Story. A lover of Romeo and Juliet from which West Side Story is based, Rodgers stated that while Westside Story was one of “the hardest shows (she’s) directed in her life”, it was also “a dream come true”.

tuts westside 2 — photo credit Tim Matheson

Opening to a packed park and an amenable sky at Malkin Bowl on July 13th, the 32 member cast and 17-piece orchestra accomplished the prodigious feat of utilizing music, dance and song to narrate this iconic, impassioned drama of poverty, racism and tragic love. Rangy, familiar scores interpreted by Music Director Chris King aptly exposed the gritty restlessness of inner city youth and ramped up the intolerable tension between two gangs: the Jets (American born white) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants). Well-executed jaunty pieces supported contemporary swing (The Dance at the Gym) and punctuated the bitter-sweet layers of blissful innocence throughout the performance. Equally compelling was the dynamically choreographed (Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg) dance narrative that expanded the intensity of the plot and roused the audience. A talented cast performed a blend of acrobatics, jazz and ballet articulating both jarring violence and ephemeral lightheartedness.

tuts west side — photo credit Tim Matheson

West Side Story is the quintessential tale of doomed, passionate love in a turbulent world. For me, it was the intoxication of losing myself in each classic piece that highlighted the performance. Tony, (Matt Montgomery) singing Maria convinces the audience of his love-at-first-sight experience. Effervescent, youthful innocence is ardently conveyed in ‘America’ and ‘I Feel Pretty’ while ‘Cool’ dislodges us into the depths of salty urban life. It was the dream-like world of ‘Somewhere’, though, that brought out the goose bumps.

The strength of the performance lies in commitment. Rodgers’ adherence to the original production while seamlessly weaving in elements of her own personal touch, adds credibility and creativity. Tony and Maria compete with chaos and uncertainty by consistently setting themselves apart from their peers through chemistry, passion, language and song. The rival gangs remain true to their absurdities and are easily identified by dress and colour. Even the simple props are glued in expression and effectively set the stage. In short, the orchestra, cast and crews collectively own a committed effort to strike all the right chords.