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

Director	Tom McClary
Conductor	Joshua Horsh
Vocal Music Director	Phillip Mackenzie Torbert
Scenic Designer	Jon Vickers-Jones
Lighting Designer	Susan L. Polay
Sound Designer	Michael Blake
Choreographer	Heather Arnold Torbert
Costume Designer	Edna Rentschler
Stage Manager	Gina Bowker
Assistant Stage Manager	Sarah Rafacz
Apprentice Coordinator	Kathi Lunardi

About the Show

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

Tony	Kyle Tomlin
Maria	Amberlee Weber
Anita	Deanalis Resto

	The Jets			Their Girls
Riff	Will Mills		Graziella	Deb Saxe
Action	Matt Greer		Velma	Suzie Shoffner
A-Rab	Joey Hergenreder		Minnie	Amanda Karl
Baby John	Phil Irvin		Clarice	Page McDonough
Snowboy	Tristan Wilson		Pauline	Aimee Piersall
Big Deal	Dan Landers-Nolan		Trixie	Tricia Timney
Diesel	Andrew Saxe
Anybodys	Ellie Gilmore

	The Sharks			Their Girls
Bernardo	Ben Thomas		Rosalia	Christen Buckley
Chino	Erik Larson		Consuela	Hilary Caldwell
Pepe	Kenny Dupler		Teresita	Kaitlyn Deutsch
Indio	Seth Cornwall		Francesca	Courtney Lope
Luis	Will Barksdale		Estella	Amanda Jones
Anxious	Michael Cicippio		Margarita	Ashley Lope
Juano	Tyler Greer		Ingrid	Stephanie Shoffner
Toro	Eli Beers-Altman		Sharkettes	Emelia Brannen Helen Fleischer Alexis Lunardi Kaitlin Lunardi

	The Adults
Schrank	Jerrod Miller
Krupke	Amanda Karl
Glad Hand	Eli Beers-Altman
Doc	Gert Aron

Publicity Photos