West Side Story

Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Performed
July 2-3, 5-6, 8-12, 15-19, 2008
at
The Boal Barn Playhouse

DirectorTom McClary
ConductorJoshua Horsh
Vocal Music DirectorPhillip Mackenzie Torbert
Scenic DesignerJon Vickers-Jones
Lighting DesignerSusan L. Polay
Sound DesignerMichael Blake
ChoreographerHeather Arnold Torbert
Costume DesignerEdna Rentschler
Stage ManagerGina Bowker
Assistant Stage ManagerSarah Rafacz
Apprentice CoordinatorKathi Lunardi

About the Show

Poster
West Side Story
2008

Shakespeare’s tragedies have usually been adapted only by operatic composers such as Rossini, Donizetti, Gounod, Adam, and Verdi. Musical composers have stuck to the Bard’s comedies and given us the likes of Kiss Me Kate, The Boys from Syracuse, Your Own Thing, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Only Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents have successfully taken a tragedy and brought it to the Broadway musical stage.

Romeo and Juliet, with its tale of bigoted, feuding clans in Renaissance Italy, has been transferred to a rough Manhattan neighborhood in the 1950s where the war is between teen gangs of native-born Americans (Jets) and Puerto Ricans (Sharks). Like their Shakespearean counterparts, Tony and Maria meet, love, and lose the battle against mindless hatred-but the ending is perhaps a bit more hopeful than its antecedent. In a world still torn by senseless discrimination and violence, this ray of hope could not be more timely.

Shakespeare’s stage was a spare, open unit set that could easily house any manner of exterior and interior scenes. A line or two of dialog and the imagination of the audience were all that was needed to whisk the theatre-goer from one locale to another. Taking our cue from this tradition, this production of West Side Story swiftly and fluidly moves from space to space with just the slightest scenic hints in order to heighten the relentless force of the drama.

In many ways, I feel as if the title “director” is the incorrect one for me for this production. The cast, artistic team, and design staff have so taken ownership of what you are about to see that I think a more appropriate title for me might be “guide.” I have pointed the way here and there and suggested certain routes, but that is about it. All I can say is thank you one and all for taking me along for the journey!

Tom McClary

The Cast

TonyKyle Tomlin
MariaAmberlee Weber
AnitaDeanalis Resto
The JetsTheir Girls
RiffWill MillsGraziellaDeb Saxe
ActionMatt GreerVelmaSuzie Shoffner
A-RabJoey HergenrederMinnieAmanda Karl
Baby JohnPhil IrvinClaricePage McDonough
SnowboyTristan WilsonPaulineAimee Piersall
Big DealDan Landers-NolanTrixieTricia Timney
DieselAndrew Saxe
AnybodysEllie Gilmore
The SharksTheir Girls
BernardoBen ThomasRosaliaChristen Buckley
ChinoErik LarsonConsuelaHilary Caldwell
PepeKenny DuplerTeresitaKaitlyn Deutsch
IndioSeth CornwallFrancescaCourtney Lope
LuisWill BarksdaleEstellaAmanda Jones
AnxiousMichael CicippioMargaritaAshley Lope
JuanoTyler GreerIngridStephanie Shoffner
ToroEli Beers-AltmanSharkettesEmelia Brannen
Helen Fleischer
Alexis Lunardi
Kaitlin Lunardi
The Adults
SchrankJerrod Miller
KrupkeAmanda Karl
Glad HandEli Beers-Altman
DocGert Aron

Publicity Photos

Publicity Photography by
Meadow Lane Photography
www.meadowlanephotography.com/