Sunday, April 16, 2006

West Side Story

When first premiered in New York in 1957, West Side Story marked a new milestone in American theater history. Based on a modernised adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the musical is set in modern New York as a clash between two street gangs. On top of that, the story also highlighted the social problems which plagued the society at that time.

This year, this musical is brought into Singapore. A totally phenomenal performance, and the score by Leonard Berstein is nothing short of brilliant. Directed by Joey McKneely, one of the only three directors authorised to stage this most captivating musical, this musical is brought alive with the heartwarming story, powerful music and remarkable choreography.

This season, we have a group of cast and remarkably energetic cast performing here. Josh Young stars as Tony and Kirsten Rossi as Maria. Truly magical partnership and vocal skills. Both sung their parts splendidly and Kirsten Rossi sure got her Puerto Rican accent out well. The only problem is that her highest registers comes across as overly shrill. Other than that, the other aspects are just marvellous.

Would definitely consider this rare theatre performance nothing short of spectacular.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I will let you in on a secret. I have this scheduled for my "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" 2006 schedule. I've seen it performed on stage in Dallas. If Leonard Bernstein erote the music for this play and nothing else, he'd still be a Legend!