West Side Story

West Side Story by WAWWA The Musical Youth at the Dolman Theatre, Newport

Based on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story transforms the play to a musical set in 1950s New York. The story surrounds two rival gangs (the Jets and the Sharks) getting ready for a fight, when one of the Jets leaders falls in love with the sister of the rival gangs leader.

The cast was full of strong performers who were at their best when they were singing but there were parts of the shows opening night that felt under rehearsed especially the dance routines at the beginning of the show. It often felt as if the stage was too small to encompass the whole cast and that a bigger venue would have helped the performance.

The stand out moment of the show was when the whole company was on stage singing the song Tonight, it really did make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A bit of light relief comes in the song Gee, Officer Krupke where the Jets are mocking Officer Krubke after escaping from him.

The shows finale is a bit of an anti climax, (count the bodies!), but thankfully the closing scene is rescued by excellent performances from the supporting cast and Nadia Murphy who played Maria.