West Side Story

I've got to say that the music to West Side Story is hard to shake once it's in your head. Especially when you see the show twice in one weekend. I've been humming tunes pretty much non-stop.

The Girl was in the show this past weekend. (One of only two Freshman in the cast, thank you very much!) Here she is hanging in the middle of the scaffolding.
The scaffolding was the set for the most part. They'd roll it over here for one scene. Spin it around and roll it over there for another scene. Climb on it, hang from it, stand, sing from it and dance on it. Very dynamic but time consuming to change from scene to scene.

West Side Story is, of course, the struggles of the Jets and the Sharks as they vie for turf. The Girl was a Jet because if there is one look she could not possibly ever pull off it would be Puerto Rican. Here's a bunch of Jet girls. You would think gang girls would look tougher and meaner. This group looks like a bunch of princesses.
Now this is better, Shark guys! Watch out, they may be smiling but they are all carrying switchblades!
How about some Jet guys? They're tough too. They bring chains to the rumble.
Shark girls are another bunch of princesses. But none of these girls are afraid to deal out a slap if you get a touch mouthy with them.


We went opening night and the show was still rough around the edges. There were major technical problems with the sound. The kids seemed lost when it came time to move set pieces. The live band had only practiced with the kids singing twice before opening night and the timing was all off. The kids just looked plain confused most of the time.


Sunday's afternoon's performance was an entirely different story. Most everything went off without a problem. The sound issues were cured and you could actually hear the actor's lines. The band sounded amazing and the kids are figured out how to sing with them. The whole show rolled along smoothly.


The auditorium is coming down in just a few weeks now. When I see the new building going up, it's hard for me to get sad about the old one coming down. The only part that gets to me is that my little piece of green room graffiti will be buried.