“West Side Story,” the seminal and timeless Broadway musical, has been undergoing an unprecidented challenge in its current run.
I saw the splendid Diamond Head Theatre performance Saturday night (March 21), battling a pre-curtain downpour, and the Sunday matinee (March 22) unfolded without incident.
The Jerome Robbins classic on stage and on film hasn’t experienced this kind of bumps in the road that have challenged the DHT company. First, opening night hasn’t happened yet due to the Kona-low weather; it’s set in April, if you have tickets.
Two shows – scheduled as before-opening-extensions of the run – had to be canceled. The earlier Sunday matinee was able to play to an audience, but the theater discovered its roof leaked, providing potential danger for the cast.
But like the industry mantra goes, “the show must go on,” and it’s been operating with caution and fueled by determination. Most ticketed theater-goers have been showing up, rain or not.
“West Side Story” needs no introduction; it’s a love story with gang fights, based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” with an iconic score by Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), with book by Arthur Laurents. The vision – and choreography – are by the fabled Jerome Robbins, and theater actors know it takes a whole lot of kicks and leaps, since the production is known for its signature dance fights.
This is the show that introduced “rumble” to the litany of musical comedy.
Andrew Sakaguchi, director and choreographer, has emerged as a seasoned player on the dark side of the footlights, ably shuffling the enormous task of moving and shaping a company of 27 actors, singers and dancers. He doesn’t fumble the rumble; he maintains confidence and creativity, from the darkly-lit opening fugue among the Jets and the Sharks, to the tearful “Somewhere” moment of tragedy that brings down the curtain.
As Tony, Damian Chambers (with Jonah Guerrero as alternate) brings national creds to the stage, and defines his character with a warm voice and awesome physical stamina. His balcony scene with Maria, played by Relle Reavis (sweetly romantic), proves he’s a gallant beau. They share and project young love on “Tonight,” leading to Maria’s acknowledgement, “J’adore.”
Other roles are well cast, too. Anita (Emi Sampson, great dancer, rich emotion) delivers “America,” with her agile corps of supportive Sharks women. The feuding gang leaders, Riff (Mike Braud) and Bernardo (Dwayne Sakaguchi), are robust and rigorous, in their dance and fight moves.
In smaller roles, standouts include Doc (Joe Martyak), the drugstore owner; Officer Krupke (Ioane Camacho), the cop; and Chino (Justin Garde), Bernardo’s friend.
The tech crew’s contributions are noteworthy. DeAnne Kennedy, set designer, utilizes a functional and principal silhouette of a cityscape to “set” the show; and Stephen Clear’s lighting design illuminates the “place.” Michael Minor and La Fa‘amausili-Siliato’s sign design was clicking, until the moment of “squawking” late in the show I saw, undoubtedly corrected by now. Kyle Connor’s props design tapped everything from the grocery to the balcony, from bridal shop to bedroom; Aiko Schick’s hair and make-up design, always faultless, are up to snuff; and Jason Nomura’s musical direction is joyously and jubilantly seductive, flowing and soaring throughout the rich and rousing Bernstein-Sondheim score.
Most theater-goers – director-choreographer Sakaguchi included, as he admits in his director’s notes – are introduced to “West Side Story” via the vintage cinema version. I did, too. “Oklahoma,” too, is another classic musical that lured fans. These shows are challenges for theaters to stage, because of the huge casts, demanding technical challenges, and mostly require the right vision and energy, along with a huge budget to make all the buttons to click. Diamond Head Theatre should be proud to create a production of this caliber. The company persevered, amid the Kona-low rains and winds, and though I joking called this the “Wet Side Story” in a previous column, we in Hawaii always believe that rain brings good luck. But OK, akua, enough already We’ve had all the rain we need for a while. “West Side Story” has survived the storm…
‘West Side Story’
What: a musical by Arthur Lauwents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), originally directed and choreographed by visionary Jerome Robbins.
Where: Diamond Head Theatre.
When: Remaining performances at 7 p.m. March 26, 7 :30 p.m. March 27, 3 and 7:30 p.m. March 28, 3 p.m and 7:30 p.m. March 29, 7 p.m. April 2, 7:30 p.m. April 3, 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 4, 3 p.m. April 5, 7 p.m. April 9, 7:30 p.m. April 10, 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 11, 3 p.m. April 12 and 7 p.m. April 16.
Tickets: $43 to $70, at the box office at (808) 733-0274, or online at www.diamondheadtheatre.com
Broadway fans are still wild about ‘Harry’
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Children” continues to sit atop the Broadway charts. It is one of three shows currently in the elite $2 Million Club.
The Top10:
1—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $2.640 million
2—“Hamilton,” $2.403 million
3—“The Lion King,” 2.001 million
4—“Wicked,” $1.949 million
5—“Just in Time,” $1.871 million
6— “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” $1.518 million
7—“Every Brilliant Thing,” $1.355 million
8—“MJ the Musical,” $1..333 million
9—“Aladdin,” $1.287 million
10—“The Great Gatsby,” $1.219 million
Here’s the complete list of play grosses for the week ending March 22, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…