West Side Story

    

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing a new production of West Side Story at the Lyric Theatre on Friday night. I admit I wasn't going to see this production. The advertising has been billing the show as "new, hot, and vibrant", and I wondered how anyone could make a fifty year old classic musical "new". But when some discounted tickets came up, I had to go.

Whilst paying tribute to the original Jerome Robbins staging, Joey McKneely's slick and gutsy production injects modern flair and sensibility into a Broadway classic. Aside from the dancing, which was absolutely phenomenal, what stood out for me in this production was the story of immigration: everyone, at some point in the American story, is an immigrant, everyone struggles, and living in the city is tough. And when the fiery passions of the people defending "their" turf, and dream of a new life collide, you have a tragedy of Shakespearean scale on your hands. Paul Gallis' stylised and stark fire-escape set, along with the use of projected 1950s black and white images of New York City, created a sense of alienation and evoked the harsh reality of living in the city. The athletic and punchy choreography gave a sense of the raw strength and primal energy of the dueling gangs, making the stylised fight scenes entirely believable and gripping.

The ensemble as a whole were fantastic, and their commitment to playing street-toughened teens was convincing. I loved the unusual interpretation of the "Officer Krupke" number. It is usually played for comic relief, but in this production, it highlights the raw energy of disillusioned young men, and you can well understand why these boys would turn to gang life for solace. Alinta Chitdz as Anita was the standout lead. She is a total knock-out, and her saucy renditions of "America" and "A Boy Like That" were thrilling. 

McKneely's production was refreshingly all about story-telling. No celebrity castings, or flashy stage effects, just a strong and highly talented ensemble using song and dance to tell a story about the tragedy of alienation, violence, and forbidden love in the harsh and unforgiving city. It was interesting to note however the audience's reactions to the seemingly over-sentimental and heightened love between Tony and Maria. Even in a classic well-known musical, modern audiences can't buy this all passionate all consuming climbing fire escapes in the middle of the night, proclaiming I love you's and I'm going to marry you's, and "I'm going to have a thousand babies and name them all after Doc - even the girls"in the first five minutes of meeting a forbidden love.

The biggest barrier to this show is not sentimentality, but price. At $120 a ticket (for A reserve), I imagine many people are going to miss this show, which is a great shame, because we don't get musicals of this standard in Australia very often. The billing of the show as new, hot, and vibrant is spot on, and if you like dance this is a must-see production.