'West Side Story' at Barrington Stage Is a Must See!

West Side Story

Based on conception of Jerome Robbins

Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Entire original production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins

Directed by Julianne Boyd

Choreographer, Joshua Bergasse

Musical Director, Darren R. Cohen

Set Designer, Luke Hegel-Cantarella; Costume Designer, Anne Kennedy; Lighting Designer, Scott Pinkney; Sound Designer, Randy Hansen and Matt Kraus; Production Stage Manager, Renee Lutz

Starring: Justin Bohon (Riff), Jacqueline Colmer (Anita), Julie Craig (Maria), Chris Peluso (Tony), Freddy Ramirez (Bernardo)

Also Starring: Joey Calveri, Xavier Cano, Nicky Cooper, Beth Crandall, Robert Dalton, Billy Fagen, Matt Gibson, Melinda Hall, Spencer Howard, Jamie Markovich, Michael McGurk, Michael Mindlin, Kristin Piro, Dale Radunz, John Raterman, Rebecca Riker, Manuel Santos, Kiira Schmidt, Gordon Stanley, Vanessa Van Vrancken

Performances through July 14, 2007 at Barrington Stage Company - MainStage 

Box Office 413-236-8888 -or- www.barringtonstageco.org

What is there to say about West Side Story that hasn't already been said since it first appeared on Broadway fifty years ago? The musical retelling of the Romeo and Juliet theme, created by four of the greats of the American stage, has stood the test of time like few others before or since. The Barrington Stage Company production, under the direction of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, with Joshua Bergasse recreating the original choreography, can be added to the long, proud history at the same time as it gives the show new life. 

Featuring a cast of 25 and an eleven-piece orchestra, this theatrical experience harkens back to a time when musicals customarily employed live musicians and large numbers of chorus boys and girls, which seems fitting given its era of origin. Luke Hegel-Cantarella's sets create a sense of déjà vu because the images have been burned into our mind's eye over five decades. The brick wall of a tenement, a W41 ST signpost, a fire escape in an alley, and Doc's Drugstore are instantly recognizable icons. We know exactly what to expect when the actors move each piece of scenery into place.

Except that we don't, or can't know until these talented singers and dancers take to the stage and put forth their interpretation of Jerome Robbins' routines and Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics. From the opening notes and dance steps of the Prologue, they transport us to the mean streets that are home to the Jets and the Sharks. Pride, joy, fear, and hatred are all expressed in dance moves in the first number, artfully setting the tone for the story that follows. As Lt. Schrank, Dale Radunz's worn and tired demeanor portends his lack of desire or ability to effectively manage the situation on his beat. He is lucky to keep his head above water. One needs only to contrast his flatness with the self-confidence of Riff (Justin Bohon) or the angry Action (Michael McGurk) to realize that the outcasts or hoodlums control this beat. Top of the world, Ma.

As important as the Jets feel owning their little bit of turf, they are in a struggle to hold onto it, not only against the inroads of the new immigrants, the Sharks, but also the passing of an era. They fail to see the irony that most of their families were immigrants as well, a message that is most timely in our social climate. The actors in both gangs do a convincing job of showing their distaste for each other, as well as donning their cultural pride. The Dance at the Gym is a great showcase for the competition between them, colorful costumes, and some terrific mambo steps. Edge to the Sharks on that one.

The seminal moment occurs during the dance when Tony (Chris Peluso) and Maria (Julie Craig), spotlighted, lock eyes across the gym and everyone else fades into the background. After their encounter, Tony sings about his new love (Maria), more or less to the cosmos. Peluso has a lovely voice and does something very special with this song as he finds a way to give Maria's name a different nuance every time it leaves his lips. Yet their scene on the fire escape is the über-highlight of the night for me.  In the first place, the couple has a very sweet chemistry together and their exhilaration about their budding love is infectious and true to life. Then, when Julie Craig begins to sing, dazzling sounds burst forth. She is a songbird with a voice of great clarity of tone and array of emotions. Their Tonight duet shoots off sparks into space and suns and moons all over the place.

Jacqueline Colmer offers an exciting performance as Anita, ranging from playing mother hen to Maria's chick, to the sardonic tease in America, to the sultry moll, and is an overall commanding presence onstage. While West Side Story focuses one lens on the boys of the gangs, the two girls steal the spotlight. Colmer and Craig are both triple threats (acting, singing, dancing) and imbue Anita and Maria with tremendous magnetic power. As sweet and charming as Maria is at the start, she evolves through grief to bitterness and rage and Craig pulls it off with aplomb. Anytime these two are interacting, there is electricity, but most highly charged in the emotionally fraught A Boy Like That/I Have A Love.

In a world with few adults, Riff and Bernardo (Freddy Ramirez) become in loco parentis to the gangs. Bohon has a fair amount of self-assurance, but mistakes sneering for dangerousness. It may be splitting hairs, but his coiffure struck me as anachronistic and it diminishes his tough guy image. The costuming for the Jets is more polyester than denim, which gives him another obstacle to overcome. It may be perpetuating a stereotype, but 'Nardo and the Sharks are sharper dressers, as are their women. Ramirez uses his natty appearance to his advantage and portrays Bernardo as a very tightly wrapped man of propriety.

In addition to the star turns, there is some notable work from the ensemble. They all grow - and shrink - in the face of shared events and we see it in their eyes, their expressions, and their posture. In Gee, Officer Krupke, McGurk comically spells out all of the underlying emotions that the teens are forced to stuff, while the ballet talents of Michael Mindlin (Baby John), Spencer Howard (Snowboy), and Joey Calveri (Pepe) stand out. The Tonight Quintet is a wonderful collaboration of all of the players and a thrilling lead-in to the rumble.

There are a few issues with West Side Story fifty years after the fact. It requires a large amount of suspension of disbelief to accept teenage hoodlums breaking into song and dance (ballet, no less) in the street. Some of the language is dated, like "Daddy-o" and "Buddy Boy," but certainly no worse than Shakespeare's idioms. However, these points pale when juxtaposed with the important themes of social significance, the brilliant creative components of this great American musical, and the fact that I still cry at the end. Julianne Boyd and the Barrington Stage Company have taken on a masterwork and the result is masterful. The late writer and critic Walter Kerr described the original play as unfolding with "a catastrophic roar." Go anywhere near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and that's only one of the sounds you'll hear. You'll also hear sustained applause.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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