Fights, romance in ‘West Side Story’

A stage setting of tall brick walls plastered with graffiti symbolized the changing New York City of the mid-1950s. In an opening scene, the sold-out theater experienced the sounds of a live harmonic orchestra, dance and acting, as rival gangs battled in the streets.

Friday was opening night for IU Opera and Ballet Theater’s Jerome Robbins rendition of “West Side Story” at the Musical Arts Center. Robbins directed and choreographed the musical based on his conception of Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince’s original Broadway musical. The show will have additional performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Although “West Side Story” is hailed as an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” it also conveys the tragic consequences of racial tension and intolerance — it is much more than a love story between characters Maria and Tony.

Rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, battle for reign over their block. The Sharks are a gang of Puerto Rican immigrants constantly harassed by the Jets for not being American natives. The Jets’ main purpose is to obliterate the Sharks for good.

Maria, portrayed by graduate student Jami Leonard, falls in love with a Jet, Tony, whom she meets at a school dance. But, as in “Romeo and Juliet,” the two are torn apart by their rival gangs and families.

In a street battle, Tony, portrayed by graduate student Nicholas Fitze, kills Maria’s brother Bernado. Even after Maria finds out, she remains devoted to him. In the song “A Boy Like That,” the character Anita expresses her disgust for Maria’s decision to stand by Tony.

“A boy who kills cannot love,” Anita sings. “Stick to your own kind.”
In the end, Tony is killed as the gangs and their girls look on.

After the show, graduate student W. Jermaine Jackson praised Leonard for a strong voice. He said opera singers who sing musical theater often have to “dumb-it down” to not sound so robust.

“Leonard’s voice was light, resonate, flirtatious and sweet,” Jackson said. “Innocent, but powerful at the same time.”

Songs like “America,” in which the Puerto Rican women express their love for America rather than Puerto Rico, were a hit with the crowd. Another song, “Gee, Officer Krupke,” caused an eruption of laughter because of its satire of hoodlums being psychologically inept.

For Bloomington High School South senior Shelby Houston, the dancing was the highlight of the show, but the acting was equally as good.

“Their gestures were not staged, it looked natural, which is important because it makes it look like you are watching life, not a production,” Houston said.

The cheering and applause after each scene, along with the ovation at the end of the production, were quite telling of how the audience received the show. Both Jackson and Houston said they thought all three elements — singing, dancing and acting — of the musical were spectacular.

“I think it was a beautiful production,” Jackson said.