Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Stadium Theatre’s current musical is “West Side Story”, the classic 1957 musical hit. Based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the story is as fresh and meaningful to contemporary audiences as it was in 1591 for the original play as it was for the musical in the 1950’s. Hatred and violence don’t solve problems, they create new ones. Love and understanding of each other are the solutions for these problems, not only in both these shows but in real life, too. The well known story of Tony and Maria takes place in New York City. The outside forces of friends, enemies, gang members and adults keep them from fulfilling their dream of everlasting happiness due to hatred and bigotry. This talented cast under the insightful direction of Corey Cadigan, delivers the goods in a powerful and poignant presentation that has the audience leap to their feet at the curtain in this terrific and gut wrenching production. Musical director Henry Buck and choreographer Matthew Parello also do a splendid job. Henry with the seventeen piece orchestra and the vocals and some marvelous dances by Matthew including ballet, modern, jazz, mambo and salsa to name a few. The fabulous period 1950’s costumes are by Lauren Beaudoin while the set is by Wayne Boucher.
The two leading players are amazing performers. Mike Daniels makes Tony a strong hero who the audience can identify with from his first entrance onstage. His fantastic tenor voice soars in “Something’s Coming”, “Maria” and “Tonight” and especially impressive is his falsetto at the end of “Maria.” Mike shows love at first sight, the ensuing pure love, the horror of killing someone, the anguish of thinking your loved one is dead and finally making your death onstage believable. Pretty Grace Cuellar captures the essence of Maria with her spunky behavior in the dress shop. She makes Maria into a strong character who stands up for what she believes in. Grace has a stunning soprano voice which soars off the charts and her acting is brilliant especially when she breaks down after Tony’s death and yells at the others. Their duets are marvelous especially the fire escape duet “Tonight”, the tender and emotional “One Hand, One Heart” and the gut wrenching “Somewhere” which starts off pleasant and turns into a nightmare where they relive the death of Riff and Bernardo. Soloist for “Somewhere” is 12 year old Nolan Gibbons who stops the show with his incredible voice while the cast does the same with a magnificent dance to it. Mike and Grace capture the naivete of Tony and Maria, making the audience remember their first love. Grace also displays Maria’s comic side in “I Feel Pretty” where she and the girls have fun together while singing and dancing together.
The two leads are strongly supported by the other cast members. The dance numbers are breathtaking. Gang leaders, Riff played by Zach Boulay and Bernardo played by Alvaro Beltran. Both deliver strong performances especially in the confrontation scenes and the fight scene leading to their deaths. This scene is frightening to behold. Zach sings “The Jets” song with his gang members and in “Cool” when he exerts control over them especially hot headed, Action who is always ready for a fight. Zach and Mike portray best friends who are as close as brothers as their credo says “From Womb to tomb.” Beautiful brunette, Chantal Arraial plays Anita, the spitfire girlfriend of Bernardo excellently. She is a strong actress with a marvelous voice who sells the comic “America” where she and the girls dance up a storm and then my favorite dramatic song “A Boy Like That” duet with Maria. Anita’s hurt and anguish are displayed in this number and in the assault scene. The Jets have become depraved characters like they sang about in “Officer Krupke.” Chantal delivers a powerhouse performance, leaving the stage in triumph over the hoodlums. Victoria Hamilton delivers the goods as the bubble head in “America” who wants to go back to San Juan with her strong and beautiful soprano voice.
The usually underwritten adult roles are played by James Ernest as Lt. Schrank, Donna Gorham as the funny teacher, Glad Hand who runs the school dance, Brian Sands as the comic Officer Krupke and Dave Matthews as Doc, the weak drugstore owner. The fantastic Jet members are Billy Luce Jr. as the hotheaded, Action who scares the audience with his angry outbursts, (The hilarious “Officer Krupke” number is sung to him and fits his character to a tee) Justin Matthews as Baby John, the young naive gang member who sings the female social worker, Daniel Guay as Diesel who plays the judge, Jordan Sereno as Snowboy who plays Krupke in the number, Matthew Laferriere as Arab who sings as the shrink, Nick Pellegrino as Gee-tar and last but not least is Brenna Griswold as Anybodys, who plays the role with a lot of grit and heart. She also helps Tony escape after the emotionally draining rumble at the end of Act 1. Peter Hernandez does a great job as the shy, Chino who later becomes a murderer after Tony kills Bernardo. So for a fantastic rendition of this classic musical, be sure to catch “West Side Story” at the Stadium Theatre before time runs out. Tell them Tony Annicone sent you.
WEST SIDE STORY (16 to 18 February)
The Stadium Theatre, 28 Monument Square, Woonsocket, RI
1(401)762-4545 or www.stadiumtheatre.com
