This year, the Mac-Haydn Theatre kicks off its summer season with a Bang! Pop! POW! by delivering a sizzling performance of West Side Story. Sixty-seven years after its first production, West Side Story has become nearly as iconic as it’s source material (William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet) so I won’t rehash the premise line by line. I will, however, very enthusiastically encourage you to GET TICKETS NOW as its two week run is as potent and short lived as Tony and Maria’s love story.
From the moment that the lights go up on the Mac-Haydn stage, we are transported to the gritty streets of New York City circa 1957. This New York is a place where gangs are surrogate family, with the promise of belonging to something bigger than oneself — and the turf war that’s brewing between the Jets and the Sharks is a means of eking out respect. In the backdrop is a reminder that this is a story about the American dream. What does it mean to be an immigrant in a country founded by immigrants? Who gets to call themselves an American? And who receives the protection (or the discrimination) of the dream that our country professes to be built on? Big ups to this year’s production for skillfully pointing at these perennial questions without losing any of the flamboyant razzle-dazzle that makes the Mac-Haydn Theatre a joyful highlight of the summer.
The entire ensemble cast is thrilling to watch; they embody the hot, simmering tension of rivalry, and their swaggering machismo is gracefully executed; both in the scenes where the ensemble are pummeling each other to bits and shimmying across the dance floor. (Shout out to the fabulous choreography by Brian Knowlton and Elizabeth McGuire.)
Photo by Ann Kielbasa
The casting of our star crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, is perfection. Their voices are soaring; pitch perfect. My husband mused in the car ride home that Jared Goodwin as Tony delivered the best rendition of the song “Maria” that he’s ever heard, which is high praise for such an iconic musical.
Paula Gaudier brings palpable innocence and hopeful enthusiasm to her role as Maria, which makes the escalation of violence on the two sides of the turf war all the more heart wrenching in contrast. Caleb Bermejo gave the Shark’s gang leader Bernardo a stoic dignity and clear devotion to family and community that’s easy to root for. Ariellys Reynoso is fierce as queen bee Anita, and Griffin Wilkins who plays Riff is an absolute star. His stage presence stole scenes, in my opinion, which is exactly the charisma that a peacocking gang leader like Riff needs.
The Mac-Haydn is not a big theater. Yet the staging choices created the illusion of space by using every inch to create an immersive theater experience. The lighting design by Andrew Gmoser is an absolute VIBE, transporting us from an electrifying auditorium dance to an intimate alleyway meeting using the magic of color and light. Costume design by Hannah Saddler grounds the characters in the era while feeling fresh and contemporary enough to serve as a subtle reminder that this story could (and does) happen in the here and now.
After all, is there any story more enduring, more tragically human, than the story of Us vs. Them? Our penchant for turf war and allegiance to a “side” runs deep — its the stuff of wars, of sport, of families, of nationalism.
Perhaps what makes West Side Story (and that very similar Shakespeare play) so iconic is that deep down we know that choosing love, forgiveness and kinship in the face of bias, hate and separation is also an option. It may even be an antidote. Then again, maybe it’s the memorable soundtrack and spicy dance scenes that make West Side Story so iconic. I would bank on both of these possibilities.
Adreanna Limbach