Jets And Sharks Bring Curtain Up
Filed Under Shower Curtain | Posted on December 24, 2008
To publicise the opening of its new theatre, Alleyn’s School in Dulwich staged one of the most critically acclaimed musicals of the twentieth century, writes Mark Campbell.
The Michael Croft Theatre is named after the founder of the National Youth Theatre and a former teacher at the school. It’s a spacious, high-ceilinged venue, ideally suited to Leonard Bernstein’s fusion of opera and musical theatre that is West Side Story.
With no set to speak of, director Drew Stocker had strategic objects lowered from the flies such as shop dummies or road signs to indicate the shifting locations in 1950s New York.
Bearing in mind that the cast was made up solely of sixth form students, it would perhaps be too much to expect that this extremely challenging work met every expectation.
The principals’ singing, although generally very good, did occasionally falter over the higher notes.
The story of star crossed lovers from rival Manhattan gangs a loose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet was brought closer to home by the producers’ anti-knife crime agenda.
Considering the age of the performers, this made the evening even more relevant.
The balcony scene could’ve been more dramatically staged, but otherwise this was an entertaining production and an excellent way to christen the new building.
Tags: 1950s, balcony scene, curtain, dulwich, dummies, expectation, gangs, jets, leonard bernstein, loose interpretation, mark campbell, michael croft, musicals, principals, road signs, romeo and juliet, sharks, sixth form, star crossed lovers, west side storyRelated posts
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