The theatre department will present a production of “West Side Story” in the Little Theatre on April 26-28 and May 3-5. All shows commence at 7 p.m.
The musical, set during the 1950’s in New York City, depicts two antagonistic gangs, the Sharks and Jets, who continually taunt each other. The situation becomes convoluted as main protagonist Tony, a Shark, falls in love with Maria, a Jet. The play parallels with William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
“I love ‘West Side Story’,” said theatre arts instructor and director Maria Harris. “It is a classic story and is one of my favorite shows. The message of tolerance is a huge theme throughout the musical. It’s unfortunate that a tragedy has to take place in order for tolerance and acceptance of any race or religion to come about, as shown in the musical.”
“West Side Story” originally opened on Broadway in 1957 and gained national recognition. It was later adapted into a musical film in 1961, which won 10 Academy Awards.
“Part of the reason I chose to produce ‘West Side Story’ was for its music,” said Harris.
Junior Ben Peters and senior Ariana Kruszewski will portray the lead roles of Tony and Maria.
“Tony is definitely a typical teenage guy,” said Peters. “He founded a gang but before the beginning of the show he grows tired of the lifestyle. He is a helpless romantic and wants to find something special, and that comes in the form of a girl, Maria. He is very selfless and relatable for me to play.”
The play features more than 85 performers, which include members of the cast, technical crew, and pit orchestra. All students involved in the production exhaust much effort into the fairly large production.
“The fact that ‘West Side Story’ is a dance show means that we have to work very hard because dance is central to the show,” said Harris. “I don’t do anything that I know my students aren’t capable of. It has been a humongous challenge because we are doing original choreography. I know we have great actors who are putting in great effort. It’s going to be a wonderful performance.”
In order to support the creation of the production, the theatre department plans to coordinate several events.
“We are working on organizing a dance,” said Harris. “It will be a fifties themed sock-hop, which was what high schoolers used to do during that era.”
Tickets for all showings are available at southlakesdrama.com. Advance tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults. Tickets purchased at the door cost $12.
