WEST SIDE STORY by Laurents, Bernstein & Sondheim, Westwood High School, May 9 - 11, 2013

Westwood High School
5800 McNeil Rd.

presents















May 9 - 11, 7 p.m.

Get ready for the classic love story, amazing songs, some finger-snapping, dance battles, and a few fierce diva moments.

"West Side Story" will be presented by Westwood High School Musical Theater at the RRISD Performing Arts Center on May 9 (7:00), 10 (7:00), 11 (2:00 and 7:00). Tickets will be available at the door.

The roles of Maria and Anita will be played by Monique Borses and Caysi Dennis (respectively) for the Friday and Saturday matinee performances, and by Abby Westover and Annamaria Dragan on Thursday and Saturday evening.

~book by Arthur Laurents music by Leonard Bernstein lyrics by Stephen Sondheim~

West Side Story, Broadway touring company at Bass Hall, March 29 - April 3

A stage jammed with more than 30 trim, talented dancers, a 15-piece orchestra doing Leonard Bernstein's instantly recognizable score, a couple of memorable scenic pieces and a respectful interpretation of the 1957 reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet, tweaked only very slightly, if at all -- the touring company of West Side Story delivers exactly what the American public expects. The enterprise also provides an enlightening illustration of the difference between a film -- who hasn't seen and been impressed by the 1961 motion picture? -- and live musical theatre.

The vast spaces of the 2900-seat Bass concert hall are a challenge to any performance -- one indication is that you can rent binoculars at the concession stand before the show. Even in the mid-orchestra seats provided for press representatives, the actors in solo and duo scenes seemed alarmingly far away, as the mind's eye compared them to the vivid images of Jerome Robbins' 1961 film.

The excitement and the spectacle of the dance scenes made up for that. No film can give the scope and the dazzle of Robbins' large dance scenes, and the choreography reproduced by Joey McKneely for this staging delivers excitement, humor and far more action than your eye can follow. The show springs to life with the scene of the dance at the gym. Rival crowds, Jets and Sharks, dressed spiffy and swirly, brightly colored, challenging, teasing, frolicking and bounding with energy, contrast with one another, with the doltish adults, and eventually with the starstruck lovers Maria and Tony as they perceive one another across the full breadth of the stage.

The biggest applause came for the iconic I Like to Be in America, the teasing, stamping, celebratory number featuring the sassy, worldly Anita (Michelle Aravena, who got the most exuberant applause at the curtain call). Seven women dancers fill that broad stage with their banter and movement.

Read more and view video at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: West Side Story, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, October 27-28 and 30-31

Found on-line:

St. Andrew’s School Theater to Present

West Side Story

October 27-28, 30-31
posted at www.sasaustin.org, September 10

The St. Andrew’s Theatre Program is pleased announce this fall’s musical presentation of West Side Story. One of the most important musicals in American musical theatre history since it opened in 1957, the show has music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins.

West Side Story owes its inspiration to an ancient source. In Roman mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe were driven to desperation in their struggle to sustain a forbidden love. There have since been countless re-imaginings of their story, the most familiar being Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story is yet another interpretation. But in spite of its traditional theme, this story of young love achieves a startling modernity. Although the original show was set in 1950s New York City, the St. Andrew’s staging eschews the midcentury naiveté of prior productions in favor of a stark portrait of peril and passion. Its characters maneuver through an urban jungle, torn by tribal loyalties. In spite of this, two young lovers from clashing cultures attempt to cast off convention and achieve an ideal.

The principal leads began music rehearsals last June, shortly after school was out for the summer. Because dance is featured so strongly and is so important in plot development, the entire cast began dance rehearsals in early August so that they could learn the complicated choreography. We are delighted to have Natasha Davison, University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance faculty member, as our choreographer.

Under the guidance of director Rick Garcia, musical director Warren Dickson, technical director Jason Kruger, and choreographer Natasha Davison, we are looking forward to an exciting production of West Side Story.

Read more at www.sasaustin.org . . . .