Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Anita role in West Side Story a joy for Puerto Rico native
Actress Michelle Alves gets to live out her dream every night on stage.
Alves plays Anita in the national touring production of West Side Story, which will be onstage at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday.
“This is my dream show,” says Alves, a native of Puerto Rico. “I’ve been dreaming about doing this show since I was 5. That was the first time I saw the movie, and I fell in love with it.
“I’m in a cloud every night.”
Alves, whose previous credits include roles in Rent, Hair, Nine, Hairspray and Chicago, is on her first national tour, consisting of mostly one-, two- and three-night runs but occasionally, as was the case earlier this month, a full week in a bigger market like Fort Worth.
“We’ve been on the road for almost three months — the 29th [opening night in Little Rock] will mark our third month — and we’re on the road until the end of June,” Alves says.
The Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Arthur Laurents musical is based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
It involves a midtown New York turf battle between rival teen gangs, the (Anglo) Jets and the (Puerto Rican) Sharks, and the budding love story between Tony, who belongs to the former, and Maria, whose brother, Bernardo, belongs to the latter.
After Tony kills Bernardo in a knife fight, Anita, Bernardo’s girlfriend, is devastated and embittered and tries to sway Maria from her love of Tony; eventually, she precipitates a final tragedy that persuades both gangs to end their feud.
Alves says she and Mary-Joanna Grisso, who plays Maria, have a lot of chemistry, onstage and off.
“Maria is very sensible and smart young lady who is falling in love with this wonderful American boy; she’s very funny in her own way,” Alves says. “Anita is like her big sister; she’s taking care of her. She knows that Maria is not a baby anymore and must be allowed to live her life — and live her love.”
Alves says being a Puerto Rican puts some extra pressure on her in this role.
“It doesn’t mean that [being] from the island makes it easier for me,” she says. “The exact opposite. I want to give the respect that my people deserve and that they need for this story and this character.
“It’s a challenge for me to represent my people, but I think I’m doing it very respectfully and giving the right message to the audience every night.”