West Side Story

Photographer: Perren Bonsall

From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Arthur Laurents' book remains as powerful, poignant, and timely as ever. The score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as one of the best written. The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in this landmark Broadway musical that is one of the theatre's finest accomplishments.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the "American" Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence, and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching, and relevant musical dramas of our time.

I had the privilege to watch this amazing and unique production on Saturday evening and I had to come back on Sunday’s closing matinee to see it again. This unique collaboration between MLOC and the Casey Philharmonic Orchestra was simply sublime. 

Walking into Bunjil Place, I was a bit apprehensive as to how this collaboration would work; would this be a traditional concert-style show where the cast stands and sings, or would it be something more? When I entered the theatre, I was surprised to see the orchestra on stage surrounded by two set pieces and a decent amount of space for performers. As the orchestra began to play, various cast members were scattered throughout the audience, as if inviting you to stand up and join them onstage and into the story of West Side. 

Kent Ross conducted an impressive 45-piece orchestra live onstage with such ease it was mesmerizing to watch.

Debbie Jenkins directed a very strong and talented cast of 23 with every performer having great chemistry on stage and clever direction using all the possible space available to help tell the story.

Vocal direction by Lucy Nicholson did exceptionally well to blend such a broad scope of voices from Opera to Broadway so seamlessly.

Bridie Clark and Tim Blencowe are a dynamic duo in the theatre industry, again these two did not disappoint with their creativity in choreography and fight stunt choreography, it was a spectacular addition to the show, and I look forward to what these two do next. Stand-out numbers include “The Gym Dance”, “America”, “Cool”, and “The Rumble”. I was surprised to see a unique creative concept during the Prologue and The Procession that the traditional dance routines were forged for a fight sequence and 3 featured dancers, I absolutely loved the simplicity and cleverness of these two creatives. 

Lighting and Sound by Daniel Bowen and Jaydan Harvey was spectacular and added to the entire experience, it must have been a challenge to mic not only 23 performers but a 45-piece orchestra as well, but the sound was balanced to perfection. The lighting design never took away from either the performers or the orchestra; it was a nice blend of both worlds colliding beautifully together on stage.

Photographer: Perren Bonsall

Stand-out performers from this production were definitely Samuel Dyer as Tony, whose voice and acting brought you into the story and made you believe in young love and made you cry at the very end. I can’t wait to see this young man perform in a professional show in the near future.

Alyssa Sorgiovanni as Maria was stunning; her vocals are sublime and her innocence on stage as Maria made your heartbreak for her at the very end of the show. A definite star in the making and someone to watch out for.

Keegan Dart as Bernardo, ‘leader of the Sharks’, led his fellow Shark cast members with strength and charisma, his acting was delightful to watch and his chemistry with his co-star Kiarra Jones as Anita was brilliant to watch onstage. 

Kiarra Jones as Anita, ‘Bernardo’s Girl’ was strong vocally and for someone so young to take on such an iconic character and handle the role with such maturity, especially during the taunting scene in Act 2. was astounding to watch.

Tim Blencowe as ‘Riff leader of the Jets’ commanded the stage from his very first entrance through to the end. Seeing Blencowe partner former Broadway performer Bridie Clark as Velma – ‘Riff’s Girl’ was an absolute honour to watch; two theatre veterans perform and dance together and share such passion and chemistry in all their moments. they definitely have shown the younger generation how it should be done.

Other stand-out performers include: Ben Howell as A-Rab - his dancing was brilliant, and his characterisation was well suited for his role; Jessica Masalski as the soloist vocalist during the iconic “Somewhere” featuring her lovely vocals; Molly Whytcross as the Tomboy Anybody’s was well suited to the role and performed well; Celeste Marinelli as Rosalia singing in “America” was a perfect match and brought her own spark to the role and Felix de Lemos as Chino held his own for someone so young in a very strong and emotionally demanding role.

Finally, the Casey Philharmonic Orchestra was spectacular to listen to.

Kent Ross definitely had his work cut out for him, but every single song and orchestral moment was like a dream. The Casey Philharmonic Orchestra worked as a well-oiled team, and this is shown by the professionalism of this orchestra and the way they were able to follow the cast without being able to see them at given times.

The leadership of this orchestra undertook a massive undertaking in doing this production with MLOC Production Inc., and both companies achieved a well-deserved “World First” with this production.

Kudos to Music Theatre International Australasia for allowing these two companies to produce this amazing version of West Side Story to take place.

Barbara Hill, The Don, NZ 

Photographer: Perren Bonsall