West Side Story

WAAPA's annual mid-year musical at the Regal Theatre is a highpoint on the Perth theatrical calendar, and West Side Story is the best of these productions to date.

Superbly directed by Crispin Taylor, Lisa O'Dea's choreography is outstanding and the execution throughout is brilliant. The production's music standards are second to none, with a brilliant 26 piece orchestra (mostly WAAPA students) under musical director David King, being matched by excellent vocal performances.

Steve Nolan's set is a complex multi-level design of terraces and fire escapes that rotate to provide distinct locations. Cleverly designed, the set has its own effective choreography and is used intrinsically throughout the show. 

Rhiannon Walker's costumes capture the mood of the era and highlight the gulf between The Sharks and The Jets. They are beautifully constructed and use colour to great effect. Lighting (Mark Howett) was precise and emotionally aware with sound (Tim Hamer) very good in a notoriously tricky venue.

William Groucutt is a handsome, extremely personable, gorgeously voiced Tony. Tiny Miranda Macpherson is a powerhouse Maria. Singing and acting beautifully, she inhabits this role and owns the stage, especially in the final scene.

The Jets are a loveable bunch of hoodlums delivering excellent performances. Patrick Whitbread is a believable leader as Riff, Stephen Madsen a strong Action, Max Bimbi a likeable A-Rab and Ben Adams a charming Baby John. "Gee Officer Krupke", was a highlight of the show,

Shannen Alyce was another standout as Anybodys; she also sang "Somewhere", which was a lovely production choice and movingly performed.

The Sharks were equally impressive. It is hard to imagine a better choice for Bernardo than Lyndon Watts, with second-year student Jacob Dibb impressing as Chino. The girls were fantastic - Suzie Melloy's strong, conflicted Anita was a breathtaking performance, with Rebecca Hetherington lovely as reminiscing Rosalia and Sophie Stokes' blonde Consuela standing out.

Also notable were those playing the adult roles with Du Toit Bredenkamp (Doc), Daniel Berini (Detective Shrank) and Nick Eynaud all delivering excellent performances. The ensemble as a whole were brilliant.

While WAAPA's performances at the Regal have always been impressive, West Side Story felt in every way like a big budget professional production, a huge achievement for a student production and a great sign for the future of Australian music theatre both on and under the stage and behind the scenes.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Jon Green