The opening night of Dramatic Productions West Side Story took the stage at Gungahlin College Theatre last Friday. On a fantastically constructed set, a diverse cast of volunteer professional and amateur actors took the stage.
The classic Arthur Laurents musical treats viewers to iconic tunes from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim while following rival gangs, the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Against the backdrop of feuding gangs, two star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria meet and fall fast and hard – only to find out Tony was the once leading force of the Jets, while Maria’s brother Bernado is the leader of the Sharks.
Aiming high in this iconic emotionally charged epic, Dramatic Productions may have been a touch overly ambitious. An awkwardly long orchestral opener prepared audiences for the show. At one point, a couple of microphones seemed to have cut out and were not fixed for a few of the numbers, leaving the audience missing parts of dialogue and melodies. The musical numbers, from the power ballads to the tongue-in-cheek, are what keep audiences coming back and, unfortunately, some fell a bit flat on opening night.
Appropriately casting the Sharks with members of the local Latinx community was a strong point of the production. Although not all Sharks had been in a staged musical before, the energy, rhythm and melodic talents the Sharks brought to the stage were a delight to watch.
In his first role since the pandemic, Jake Fraser is a standout as Jet frontman, Riff. Though a self-described lover, not a fighter, he brought intensity to each scene – the fight scenes to musical numbers were all elevated by his performance.
Despite a few missed notes and technical errors, the passion of community theatre shines through in this production. 3.5 stars
See West Side Story at Gungahlin College Theatre until 21 October; dramaticproductions.com.au
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