Schools shine again in ‘West Side Story’
OVER 60 students, some of whom had never graced a stage before, brought the world of gangs and violence in New York to life in the Dun Mhuire Theatre last week.
A bi-annual event, this year St Peter’s College and Loreto Secondary School took on ‘West Side Story’, a modern day twist on ‘Romeo and Juliet’, featuring a host of colourful characters - the Jets and Sharks. Directed by Alan Corcoran, who was also at the helm of 2015’s spectacular ‘Les Miserables: School Edition’, the musical features a host of well-known numbers including: ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’, ‘America’ and ‘Somewhere’, along with a number of ballet and dance scenes, choreographed by Suzanne O’Leary.
The ensemble is strong with the female and male choruses providing resounding backing, particularly in bigger numbers like ‘America’ and ‘Somewhere’. Separately, the Shark girls enjoy various interactions at the dress-making shop and in Maria’s room for ‘I Feel Pretty’ while the Jet boys up the comedy with a rollicking rendition of ‘Gee Officer Krupke’
The ensemble dance scenes are similarly fluid and graceful, with characters slinking around the scene effortlessly, particularly the gang members.
The main cast are excellent across the board. Dean O’Brien as Shark leader Bernardo and Eoin Pinaqui as Jets’ leader Riff command great presence on the stage, particularly in their ill-fated fight scene.
In a frontline of cast members that I knew from previous shows, one of the new faces, that of Cian Bates as the easily agitated Action stood out. The tension fizzled everytime he took to the stage - his facial expressions and movement perfectly depicted an angry and dangerous young man, while he got to show a lighter side in ‘Gee Officer Krupke’.
Holly Rossiter, as Anita, captures the sass of a young Puerto Rican girl, happy to adapt to American culture and, while fiercely loyal to her love Bernardo, she understands Maria’s predicament and is willing to help her, until she is attacked by the Jets. The latter scene is a particularly dark moment in the musical which is handled with great care.
Finally, the leads David McDonnell as Tony and Amy Richards as Maria shine from start to finish. McDonnell is believable as a man searching for something more than gangs and guns, and the richness and clarity in his voice lends itself perfectly to Tony, a character who is so certain of love but so stunted by loyalty at the same time.
Meanwhile, Richards is great as the feisty young girl who has just landed in America and is also looking for something more than what she left behind. Her vocal range is exceptional and the famous numbers of the show shine. Her final scene, when she challenges both gangs and, ultimately, forces them to take stock of what has happened, is powerful and heartbreaking.
The talent on dispaly in this year’s musical was, as always, a great delight and, no doubt, we will see many of these faces on more stages in the future.