15 minute read
REVIEWS
Running now through December 15!
by Elizabeth James Nov. 30, 2021
WEST SIDE STORY at Florida Repertory Theatre, directed by Kody C Jones, tells the classic musical story of the Jets, Sharks, Tony, and Maria.
WEST SIDE STORY is a 1950s New York take on Romeo and Juliet, and it is an absolutely bittersweet show. There is joy, love, loss, grief, and so much more. This is a beautiful cast, and they did a wonderful job bringing this classic show to life.
The Jets include Zach Schanne as Tony, Skyler Shields as Riff, Joe Collins as Action, Brett Shields as A-Rab, Patrick Agonito as Baby John, Zeke Bocklage as Snowboy, Keehnon Jackson as Big Deal, Brice Kingsley as Diesel, Chase Clark as Panzer, Michael Shelley as Gee-Tar, Scotty Wells as Mouthpiece, and Matthew Eakins as Tiger. The Jet Girls include Alexis Yard as Graziella, Missy Tucker as Velma, Emma Badger as Minnie, Paige Lewandrowski as Clarice, Sommer Senne as Pauline, and Sarah Joyce as Anybodys. Rounding out the Jets in the ensemble are Maddie Barker, Sophia Gurule, and Chloe Lowman.
The Sharks include Rebbekah Vega-Romero as Maria, Diego Guevara as Bernardo, Maria Cristina Posada Slye as Anita, Ryan Reyes as Chino, Yul Carrion as Pepe, Sean Rodrigo Royal as Indio, Alex Leeds as Luis, Nicholas Salerno as Nibbles, and Heros Oliveira as Toro. Alongside them are the Shark Girls, including Nayda Marie Baez as Rosalia, Sophie Elizabeth as Consuela, Kayla Clements as Teresita, Laela Beatriz Rodriguez as Francisca, Lorelai Vega as Estella, and Emily Longoria as Margarita. Rounding out the Sharks in the ensemble are Athena Rose Belis and Naomi Medina.
The adults in the show include Michael Marotta as Doc, William McNulty as Lt. Schrank, David Breitbarth as Officer Krupke, and Cantrella Canady as Glad Hand.
As you can tell, this is a very large cast. It is by far the biggest cast in a professional show that I have seen on Florida Rep's stage, and I have to give major kudos to everyone involved in the production for making it so wonderful. The acting was superb, the dancing was phenomenal, and the singing was so, so beautiful. From "Jet Song" to "America," "Cool," "Tonight," and beyond, each performance was spectacular. Vega-Romero's Maria and Schanne's Tony had incredible chemistry on stage, and it was such a joy to watch them fall in love before our eyes. Vega-Romero's "I Feel Pretty" was another stand-out moment for me, as was Schanne's "Maria." I also thoroughly enjoyed Slye's Anita alongside Guevara's Bernardo. Skyler Shields's Riff did a great job leading the Jets through every song, dance, and fight. Really, this cast is so talented, it would be hard to not love this show.
This production was directed by Education Director Kody C Jones (who also did the fight choreography), alongside musical direction by Rosalind Metcalf, choreography by Curtis Holbrook, scenic design by David Arsenault, costume design by Kim Griffin, lighting design by Tyler M. Perry, and sound design by Adam Trummel. Every aspect of this show was brilliant, and this team did a spectacular job giving this show a fresh feeling. I was truly transported to the time and place of this story. The musical numbers were so much fun to watch, and I loved how the fight choreography really was choreography. Each fight was its own dance, and it kept the audience completely enthralled.
© 2021 Best Buy
how the show came together, and I thought it was done very well. Something really unique about this production is that it was a Co-Production between Florida Rep's Education program and professional actors. Some actors are part of Florida Rep's Conservatory programs, some local talent, some Florida Rep's acting interns for the season, some acting apprentices specific to this show, and some Equity actors. It was really fun to see
I saw the show on opening night, which happened to be the same day that the legendary Stephen Sondheim passed. This cast and crew more than honored him with this extraordinary production, and it was a special moment for all.
I absolutely encourage you to buy your tickets to Florida Rep's WEST SIDE STORY soon - they're selling out! The show runs through December 15. This is one of my personal favorites from Florida Rep, and I know you will love it too. To buy tickets and for more information, click here:
https://www.floridarep.org/the-season/west-side-story/
Photo Credit: Joe Dafeldecker
RELATED ARTICLES
VIEW MORE FT. MYERS/NAPLES STORIES
Have A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS At Broadway Palm! BWW Review: HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS at Broadway Palm TheatreZone Kicks Off Season With HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Next Month The Off Broadway Palm Is Kicking Off The Holiday Season With NO CLAUS FOR ALARM!
FROM THIS AUTHOR
Emily Yorgey is an avid arts fan from Southwest Florida. She graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in Spring 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts (read more about this author...)
BWW Review: WEST SIDE STORY at Florida Repertory Theatre
BWW Review: THE WOMAN IN BLACK at Florida Repertory Theatre is Superbly Spooky
BWW Review: WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT at The Laboratory Theater Of Florida
BWW Review: Broadway Palm is Alive with THE SOUND OF MUSIC!
BWW Review: LET'S FALL IN LOVE at Florida Repertory Theatre
ELIZABETH JAMES
Rating
By Edward Kliszus and Elizabeth Ann Foster, November 26, 2021
An excited full house eagerly anticipated this Opening Night of West Side Story, its pathos intensified by today’s passing of our beloved bard Stephen Sondheim. As such, we were honored to participate in what became a celebration of West Side Story’s depiction of a doomed couple we love, akin to Romeo and Juliet, Aida and Radames, and Tristan and Isolde. Elizabeth Ann Foster, a former Almodovar Ortiz from Yauco, Puerto Rico, tonight experienced her first viewing of a production of West Side Story. With parents hailing from the Isles of Ireland and Puerto Rico, a product of the sixties, and at the time originating from what was deemed a mixed marriage, the storyline is personal and vital.
We were transfixed by the beauty and power of the tragedy from which we could not turn away. Like audiences immersed in the 19th-century tragic love affairs operatically staged by Wagner and Puccini, we wept and sympathized, our emotions rising and descending to the sounds and scenes.
Diego Guevara, Rebbekah Vega-Romero, and Maria Cristina Posada Slye in Florida Rep’s “West Side Story.” Photo: Joe Dafeldecker / Florida Repertory Theatre
This performance wonderfully supported Arthur Laurents’ imagery through dance, song, drama, and music. Supercharged by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim, the venue’s descriptive dramatic power was brought to life by the Florida Repertory Theatre company. Audience members were captivated, sighing and breathing to spiritual affections, beauty, hope, and loss.
The troupe successfully sustained the tensions of discovery, innocence, doomed love, impending tragedy, territorial mêlées of the competing Sharks and Jets, and wanton first-generation youths pushing back on conservative society from their urban milieus. Notably, this patron realized the depths and complexities of her heritage, coming full circle to appreciate her Irish mother who never remarried, remaining in love to this day with her “PR” as she called him.
This was a marvelous opportunity for up-and-coming artists to collaborate with seasoned pros from Broadway including Diego Guevara as Bernardo, Zach Shanne as Tony, Maria Cristina Posada Slye as Anita, Rebbekah VegaRomero as ingenue Maria, and Michael Marotta as Doc. Fellow audience members remarked in awe on Skyler Shields’ solid singing and characterizations of Riff, observations with which we wholeheartedly agree. Of special note also are the blocking and sets designed by David Arsenault, aptly supporting the artistic and dramatic power of a large, energetic cast, splendid dancing, and Curtis Holbrook’s choreography.
For Elizabeth Ann Foster, whose parents’ lives project their own tragic love story, this production was highly anticipated. Never having seen a production of West Side Story but knowing it was one of her parents’ favorites on Broadway, she was eager to
personally observe the hype’s source. She was compelled to experience Florida Rep’s production and was not disappointed. So much made sense from her sphere of origin! She viewed the original film adaptation of the musical that evening, noting almost immediately her preference for Florida Rep’s precision dance scenes. Take it from this Bronx-born native New Yorker, that if you have never seen West Side Story, you must head over to the Arcade Theatre and avail yourself of a rich history lesson. Your recognition and appreciation of our evolution as a society is alone worth the ticket price.
Amazing. Standing ovations well-earned!
Get your tickets for West Side Story at the Historic Arcade Theatre, which runs through December 15, 2021. For tickets for West Side Story and the Theatre’s exciting 21-22 season, go to https://www.floridarep.org/the-season/west-sidestory/ or call the box office at 239-332-4488.
RECOMMENDED
Edward Kliszus Performer, conductor, and educator Edward Kliszus began his musical studies at the age of 5 and has since been deeply involved in the fine and performing arts. Long time and current member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and American Federation of Musicians (AFM), he studied both piano and trumpet performance, and while at the Manhattan School of Music studied with Mel Broiles, principal trumpet of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Lincoln Center. His post-graduate studies at New York University focused on trumpet and piano performance, music composition, and an analysis of Elliott Carter’s 1974 work Brass Quintet. He has performed at Manhattan's West Village venue Monologues and Madness and currently focuses his artistic and creative endeavors in writing, music composition, jazz piano, and reviewing music and theatre venues for The Front Row Center in New York NY, and OpeningNight.Online in sunny Florida.
OpeningNight.Online@gmail.com Copyright (c) 2021 OpeningNightOnline and EdSenseLLC All rights reserved.
SHARE
Home About Authors Reviews & Features Events & Tickets
Continued from Page 16W
Southwest Florida Symphony musicians perform holiday songs at three Southwest Florida venues: Gulf Theater in Punta Gorda (4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12. $25), The Village Church at Shell Point in south Fort Myers (7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13. $35) and First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs (7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14. $20). Learn more at swflso.org.
Wednesday, Dec. 15
Michael D’Amore Christmas Show: The singer-songwriter returns for his third year to perform holiday tunes and hits from the 50s and 60s. 7 p.m. $25. Cultural Park Theater, 528 Cultural Park Blvd., Cape Coral. 772-5862 or culturalparktheater.com
“A Barefoot Christmas Party”: Musician Yard Dog Charlie provides the “swamp music” for this event benefiting the Pine Island Food Pantry. Other musicians are invited to join in with a Christmas song or two. Non-perishable food items will be collected. The event also includes raffles and drink and food specials. Everyone who donates food, supplies or money gets raffle tickets. 6:30-9:30 p.m. Free admission. Bert’s Bar, 4271 Pine Island Road, Matlacha. 282-3232 or bertsbar.com
Friday, Dec. 17
A Clydesdale Christmas: A Clydesdale horse visits with a decorated carriage and poses for photos. The event also includes “snow flurries,” a hot cocoa bar and letters to Santa. 5-7 p.m. Free. Chick-fil-A, 21900 S Tamiami Trail, Estero. 498-8700 or facebook.com/esterocfa
Saturday, Dec. 18
Cape Coral Holiday Boat-A-Long: Annual festival featuring Christmas music, stage performances, drinks, kids’ crafts, Santa Claus, food vendors, a free movie in the park (title to be announced) and the main event: A parade of boats decorated with lights and inflatables that usually leaves the park around 7 p.m. The event takes place 4-10 p.m. Free. Four Freedoms Park, 4818 Tarpon Court, Cape Coral. 945-4820
“Ho-Ho-Home for the Holidays”: Improv actors create a live, one-act holiday musical from scratch, based on audience suggestions. 7:30 p.m. $20. Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs, 10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs. 495-8989 or artcenterbonita.org
Sunday, Dec. 19
Punta Gorda Symphony’s “Holiday Pops”: The orchestra performs Mel Tormé’s jazzy “The Christmas Song,” music from the movie “The Polar Express,” seasonal ballads, carols and more. 2 and 7:30 p.m. $65 ($15 for youths and students). Charlotte Performing Arts Center, 701 Carmalita St., Punta Gorda. 941205-5996 or PGSymphony.org
Holiday Outdoor Movie Double Feature: Two popular holiday movies will be shown outside at the Alliance: “Elf ” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” 6 p.m. $12. Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets (no coolers allowed). Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers. 939-2787 or ArtInLee.org/DoubleFeature.
Monday, Dec. 20
Reiko and Friends holiday concert: The former Southwest Florida Symphony violinist performs holiday tunes with 10 of her musical friends. Bring chairs and blankets for the outdoor show. 6 p.m. (gates open at 5 p.m.). Free with a suggested $10 donation for the Alliance. Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers. 939-2787 or artinlee.org
Thursday, Dec. 30
“Cirque Dreams Holidaze”: Circus show Cirque Dreams returns to Mann Hall with holiday storybook characters, aerialists and new twists on holiday tunes like “Deck The Halls,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30-31. $37-$67. Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 FSW Parkway, south Fort Myers. 481-4849 or bbmannpah.com
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).
Comments from Florida Repertory Theatre Patrons
“West Side Story is my favorite, and this show blew me away!” “Awesome!” “Not a dry eye in the House!” “Wonderful show!” “Kody, the cast and crew took this show to a whole other level.” “Absolutely fabulous!!!~Everything was excellent especially the dancing and choreography, as well as the singing!!” “We left the theatre and all raved about this production. It exceeded our expectations. Could not believe the high quality of everything. Was like watching a performance on Broadway. Cast was extremely talented and production was first rate.” “Very ambitious musical to put on a small stage. Loved the energy and talent kudos to all involved.”
“Choreography and dance/fight sequences were outstanding!” “West Side Story was extraordinary!!! The singing and dance were exceptional. Best performance and most enjoyable I have seen at the Rep.” “Loved the music and dancing which was superb.” “These kids were awesome. The quality of this show rivals the touring companies at BBM. “The performance was so intense that I never heard a person move in the audience. It was so consuming with the acrobats and dances and the acting. This was the first time I have seen this play. What a performance it was.” “The set was well done and the actors were great and had amazing voices.” “West Side Story was one of the best productions we have seen at Florida Rep. Wonderful cast – great to see local students involved. Lead performers were outstanding, especially Maria. Dancing numbers were amazing, so many dancers on the small stage. We loved it.”
