| Go `West' for a riveting musical
By Robert Nesti Saturday, November 1, 2003 How do you make an overly familiar musical like ``West Side Story'' fresh again? Director-choreographer Barry Ivan finds a solution in his streamlined production that pays homage to its classic roots at the North Shore Music Theatre. Of course he gets a strong assist from a number of giants of the American musical theater - Jerome Robbins, whose original choreography is evoked strikingly by this sleek ensemble, and Leonard Bernstein, whose pulsating score is well-played by a small ensemble, conducted by Dale Rieling. To that add Arthur Laurents' taut book (loosely fashioned after ``Romeo and Juliet,'') and Stephen Sondheim's colloquial lyrics that do so much to convey both the starry-eyed romance between Tony and Maria, the show's young lovers, as well as the gritty tensions between the Jets and the Sharks. The strengths are apparent from the onset as the dancers break off into these rival gangs and fight to control the turf of their slum neighborhood on New York's West Side. Here Ivan's choreography re-creates the patterns that Robbins made famous in both the Oscar-winning film and in countless revivals since the show appeared on Broadway in 1957. He actually makes an improvement on the stage original, adding the boys-against-the-girls version of ``America'' from the film; it stops the show. There are, though, some questionable cuts: the power of ``One Hand, One Heart'' is mitigated here in a shortened version, and, worse, the ``Somewhere'' ballet is cut in half, missing one of Robbins' most evocative moments. Still, this is a first-rate ``West Side Story'' with a young cast that moves with effortless grace and precision throughout. By far the best aspect of this production is its intimacy: taken out of the proscenium frame and set in-the-round, the dancing is simply thrilling to watch at such close range. There's a letter-perfect Maria in Elena Shaddow, who not only looks the part of the naive, young Puerto Rican, but sings with such gorgeous tone as to make the familiar melodies seem fresh again. With his Ashton Kutcher-looks, Ryan Silverman makes a personable Tony, though vocally he tends to push a bit too hard. Roxane Carrasco is appropriately fiery as Anita, while Enrique Acevedo and David Larsen are quite strong as the rival gangs' leaders. Jack Mehler's set, with a bridge over the largely bare stage and echoes of fire escapes in the background, effectively evokes the bleak, urban landscape, and Kirk Bookman's first-rate lighting only enhances this strong version of this classic musical. ( ``West Side Story,'' presented by the North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, through Nov. 23. ) |