Joey McKneely’s touring production makes for an utterly thrilling and poignant evening, preserving West Side Story as a timeless classic.
It is a faithful homage to the 1957 Broadway debut but perhaps the lack of innovation holds back the show’s potential to really hit home.
Without a doubt, McKneely’s choreography - true to Jerome Robbins’ original - is the highlight of the night. The eclectic infusion of styles is thoroughly entertaining. The cast display rigorous technique and are impressively in sync. So much so, you might almost forget that this is a story about two star-crossed lovers caught amidst the bitter rivalry of two New York gangs: the American-Polish Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.
The effervescent Latin in America injects sheer exuberance into the auditorium, sweeping you away with the same joy that Anita - the vivacious Djalenga Scott - feels whilst singing of her elation at the country’s freedom. The expression of the dancing is unrivalled during Cool, as Riff calls upon the Jets to control their anger. The tense, balletic postures and the iconic low clicks perfectly capture the unfathomable and immeasurable rage the boys hold inside them. The movement articulates why these gangs continue to fruitlessly fight - it’s ingrained within them, it’s all they know.
However, the stylistic, jagged fight sequences and risky knife dodges at the rumble, cannot quite encapsulate the brutality of the racism and fighting we witness today. Ben Van Tienen’s orchestra and Peter Halbsgut’s bold, moody lighting create a hostile and thrilling atmosphere, but ultimately this polished production does not quite hit home and falls just short of being the tragic masterpiece it has the potential to be. Though, the finale is undoubtedly well-executed and remains capable of touching the hardest hearts. Like the rusty, tall cage-balcony hybrid set, which frames the stage and forms a stark and spartan fifties New York, the production could dazzle even further with a contemporary and gritty lick of paint.
Some of the dialogue is a little outdated and forced, occasionally jarring with the overall profoundly destructive tone of the show. As is the utopian Somewhere number, which sees the characters - all dressed in pristine white - dismiss their rivalry in an angelic sequence. It’s a tad too ‘Grease-spinoff’ but certainly underlines a world far away and out of reach from gang-warfare.
Louis Maskell and Katie Hall are stunning as Tony and Maria. Maskell gives an unreservedly charming performance as Tony, whilst Hall’s soprano is faultless. During their first encounter at the dance, their eye contact offers a wholly convincing love at first sight. This develops into a consuming, innocent love, powerful enough to rival the bitterness of the Jets and the Sharks.
To the production’s credit, the restrictions on moving away from the original conception are pretty strict. Perhaps somehow, someday it could be the perfect tragic masterpiece for our time. In the meantime, McKneely’s revival is refined, stylish, worthy of the original and with a highly accomplished cast, a breathtakingly theatrical experience.
West Side Story plays at Theatre Royal Nottingham until Saturday 17th May 2014.
Theatre Royal Concert Hall website
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