West Side Story, the musical rendering of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents, is an American classic. The original production opened in 1957, was revolutionary, and took Broadway by storm for a healthy 732 performances. The Orlando Broadway Dinner Theater decided to offer this favorite musical as the first production to be produced under the company's new title. Producer Karen Good has assembled a talented team to handle this project, and despite all their intentions, it fails to fly in most moments. The Romeo and Juliet story is taken from Verona to the streets of New York City. Romeo becomes Tony, an All-American boy, while his Juliet becomes Maria, a Puerto Rican immigrant. Their feuding families are represented by the street gangs the Jets (led by Riff, Tony's best friend) and the Sharks (led by Bernardo, Maria's brother), who fight and rumble for personal turf. In this production, Peter Musa-Ris (Riff) and Gennaro Savastano (Bernardo) lead the rival gangs. While both groups of gentlemen provide energetic dancing and portrayals from time to time, it is hard to believe many of them in their roles, as you expect these Sharks and Jets are far beyond fighting in the streets. With the exception of Xander Chauncey as Baby John, Berry Ayers as A-Rab, and Andre Diniz as Chino, who perform admirably and effectively, these Sharks and Jets are the types you expect to be holding down daytime office jobs. Even Anybodys, as played fearlessly and energetically by director/choreographer Jillian Johnson, is too old for her role. Unfortunately, youth is necessary to make this musical a success, and the Orlando Broadway Dinner Theatre seems to have taken a different route. The ladies of this West Side Story are not only the heart of the production, but also the production's backbone. Makia J. Langston's Anita is tremendously energetic and sassy, performing the comedy of "America" perfectly and the dramatics of "A Boy Like That" intensely. But the main reason to see this West Side Story is its Maria, Monica Padilla. Padilla adds a nice honesty to a quite simply written character. Maria is wide-eyed and hopeful, and in the hands of the wrong actress can come across as fake and annoying. But not Padilla; her Maria is believable, touching, hopeful, and superbly sung. The "adults" of this production provide nice work as well, with Ron Zarr's Lt. Schrank a dead-on portrayal, and Wally Harper a perfectly buffoonish Officer Krupke. Lowell Fenner, as Doc, brings forth a great deal of knowing honesty, but is unfortunately forced to double as the Gladhand as well. Jillian Johnson has done fine work on the staging of this classic. She has recreated Jerome Robbins' famous choreography, but unfortunately too many people on a small stage make it difficult for the choreography to be appreciated for what it is. On top of that, these actors could use a bit more practice - they must get in synch with one another and sell it. Musical director Patrick Nugent has done an admirable job of preparing these actors vocally, but the unfortunate canned music remains. Karen Good, I beseech you: Rid yourself of canned music! Bud Clark has done his best scenically, but a more abstract approach would have worked better, rather than using so many set pieces that take up a lot of moving area and are so noisily moved about. The lighting is unimpressive, doing little or nothing to convey mood from moment to moment. West Side Story plays the Orlando Broadway Dinner Theater through February 22nd. Tickets may be purchased online through the theater's website at www.orlandobroadway.com. The Cast: * Courtesy of Actor's Equity Association |
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