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Sharks and Jets still pack a punch in West Side Story
WEST SIDE STORY
Saddler's Wells
A GLINT of steel, and two young men lie dead. The timeless West Side Story reflects the tragedy and futility of knife crime as poignantly now as when the musical made its debut in the 1950s.
Amid city streets no stranger to youth violence, this sizzling 50th anniversary production of the Broadway classic – created by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim – is superb.
The updated Romeo and Juliet story, placed in a New York of rival street gangs, unfolds in a stark set designed by Paul Gallis. Its towering fire escapes with prison-like bars provide a grim balcony for star-crossed lovers Maria, from Puerto Rico, and all-American boy Tony. Grainy shots of skyscrapers are the backdrop.
Joey McKneely’s production captures every ounce of powerful emotion as Maria and Tony stand for hope and belief in the future while rival gangs the Sharks (Puerto Ricans) and Jets (white American kids with Polish roots) are set on destructive territorial battles.
“Without a gang you’re an orphan,” says one character – an observation as relevant to modern gang psyche as the song Gee, Officer Krupke is to the topic of juvenile offending. With its witty listing by gang members of the causes and cures of their wrongdoing, the song, brilliantly performed, is a comic gem.
Well-loved numbers such as Maria, Tonight and Somewhere are sung to spine-tingling effect, although in America some lyrics are slightly hard to hear.
The cast makes gang hatred spring cruelly to life and ensures that well-worn themes of racist abuse and violence still pack a shocking punch. Scenes of death, and the rape of Maria’s friend Anita, are short, brutal and chilling.
Three curtain calls showed audience appreciation for a cast including Scott Sussman, who confidently portrays the decency and optimism of Tony, Elisa Cordova, sweet voiced and ebullient as Maria and Oneika Phillips as a sassy, fiery Anita.
Until August 31
0844 412 4300
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