Review: Jet To Wagon Wheel To See The Cool 'West Side Story'
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Once in awhile an actor will make their debut on the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts stage and leave such a strong impression on you that you think they should be the lead for every show before Broadway steals them away. In the Wagon Wheel’s production of the Broadway classic “West Side Story,” Jordan André is that actor. As Tony, André commands the stage with not only his riveting acting performance, but also with one of the most amazing male voices to have taken the Wagon Wheel stage in years. This is his first season in Warsaw, and after listening and watching him, audiences will want André to stick around for a few years – but Broadway will be calling him to be a lead soon in any show he wants, especially musicals. The role of Tony gets a couple of solos, and André nails each one. If I was forced to pick a favorite solo of his, I would probably go with “Maria,” but “Something’s Coming” also was strong. André is in a few more shows this season at the Wagon Wheel, and I look forward to seeing his next performances whether they’re leads or not. Set in the Upper West Side in New York City around the middle of the 1950s, “West Side Story” tells the story of two young lovers on the opposite sides of a rivalry between two youth street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds – the caucasian Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Tony is a former member of the Jets and his best friend is the Jets’ gang leader, Riff. Maria is the sister of Bernardo, the Sharks’ leader. André’s performance was enhanced with Allsun O’Malley as Tony’s love interest, Maria. She’s a petite girl from Boston, but when O’Malley is on stage in “West Side Story,” she sounds, feels and looks like a girl from Puerto Rico. I must admit I was happily surprised when the very friendly, very sweet girl I interviewed Monday afternoon took to the stage opening night Wednesday. And I was pleased hearing O’Malley’s Puerto Rican accent sound as realistic as one could hope. O’Malley definitely could have her Broadway dreams realized in a few short years. When Maria and Tony sing together – in songs like “One Hand, One Heart” and especially “Somewhere” – it’s the most beautiful moments of the musical. They both have such mesmerizing voices that when they sing together, it’s like they were meant to perform as one. “Somewhere” is just a beautiful song anyway, but the duo’s performance of it makes it even sweeter. At the end of Act II in “West Side Story,” Maria gives an emotional speech that O’Malley delivers with perfection. Audiences will feel every word and feel the guilt and shame she lays on all the Jets and Sharks. O’Malley could use that speech as an audition piece and win roles for years, she just delivers it so amazingly well. “West Side Story” isn’t a two-person show though, and a great supporting cast make it an early favorite for this Wagon Wheel season for me. Anita is Bernado’s girlfriend and Maria’s best friend. As Anita, Monica Brown is stellar. She’s fiery, authentic, talented and an acting/dancing/singing phenom. She leads the Shark Girls in the song “America” and Brown just makes it all hers. I’ll be singing “America” in my head for the rest of the summer. And when she sings “A Boy Like That,” the warning in Brown’s voice is clear. There’s a scene toward the end of Act II when Anita is terrorized by The Jets, and Brown gives an award-winning performance in that scene. Audiences will see a woman try to be strong while simultaneously fearing for what is being done to her. It’s one of the darkest scenes in the entire musical, and Brown just handles it perfectly. As Riff, The Jets leader, and Bernardo, The Sharks leader, Sean Watkinson and Danny Burgos respectively were flawlessly cast. Both young men not only can act and dance, they also carry themselves as if they’ve got all the confidence in the world. Bernardo doesn’t get his own song oddly enough, but Riff gets the jazzy “Cool” and Watkinson owns it. The Sharks also don’t get their own song, though the Jets have the “Jet Song” and “Gee, Officer Krupke.” The two gangs do get a few numbers where they perform together, and it’s choreographed so tight and the guys perform it so well that it doesn’t look as difficult as it actually is. I could go on and on about how enormously talented each and every member of the “West Side Story” company is, but it’s a show you should go see yourself. The musical has always been a favorite of mine, both on stage and the film version, so I had high expectations going in to see it. It didn’t disappoint Wednesday night – from Keaton Eckhoff as Action to Angel Lozado as Chino – every cast member holds up their role as fine as I could have hoped. And all the questions “West Side Story” poses aren’t handled with kid gloves for this production, as they shouldn’t be. It does take a look – albeit a 1957 view – at racism, juvenile delinquency, love, youth violence and immigration. It doesn’t necessary give an answer on how to fix those issues, but after watching the musical one can’t help but feel that social change is needed still as many of those issues are still confronting American society today. Change for the better, for the future. Artistic Director Scott Michaels would make Jerome Robbins – the original director and choreographer of “West Side Story” – proud with what he’s put together on the Wagon Wheel stage. My rating of the show (out of four): 4.0. “West Side Story” is at the Wagon Wheel through June 27. Tickets for “West Side Story” are on sale now at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts or can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org Admission is $32 for adults, $24 for seniors, $18 for students and $14 for children up to age 12. Call the box office at 574-267-8041 with any questions. The show is presented by Alderfer Bergen and Company.
