K-W & Beyond

West Side Story at Festival Theatre in Stratford

It is challenging to stage a musical however beneficial in that it brings the public and generates the sales, but at the same relevant and fitting the image of Stratford’s reputation. This season West Side Story, a paraphrase of Romeo and Juliet, is the passionate love story of the couple belonging to two different gangs in New York, the Jets, white hooligans and the Sharks, the Porto Ricans.

It was first staged in 1957, the creation of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sonheim, with a movie following four years later. As it is one of the best creations of the famous pair, the music, the songs and the story require great producers and great singing actors. And this year in Stratford it gets both, indeed.

West Side Story: Chilina Kennedy as Maria and Paul Nolan as Tony and members of the cast [photo: David Hou]

The artistic vision of the director Gary Griffin brings the acting, singing, dancing and setting together with exceptional success. The main roles of Tony and Maria are performed by Paul Nolan and ennedy, They are both young, good looking and well-suited for their parts. Their singing is much more than the average actor can deliver. Secondary roles are taken by Jennifer Rias, Brandon Espinoza, Andrew Cao and others, all of them well-matched and excellent in their roles, whether acting or dancing.

West Side Story: Chilina Kennedy as Maria and Paul Nolan as Tony [photo: David Hou]

Songs like "Maria", "Cool", "Tonight", "A Boy Like That" evoke memories and frequent full applause from the audience. The balcony scene between Tony and Maria is so beautifully moving, the choreography (Sergio Trujillo) of the dance and final fight (chapeau bas to Jerome Robbins, the choreographer!) quite extraordinary. What a success, what a show!

West Side Story: Members of the cast   [photo: David Hou]

West Side Story continues to the end of October. There are numerous evening and matinee performances, however, when I attended all seats were sold out and I would advise purchase of tickets before driving to Stratford. The box office number is 1-800-567-1600 or connect to www.statfordshakespearefestival.com.

Me and My Girl at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse

This is another musical produced by Drayton Entertainment and running until July 18. It is another extrapolation on the Pygmalion story, a comical attempt to transform a cockney lad into an English gentleman when he is discovered to be the heir to the title and the estate of Earl of Hareford. This time the heir, Bill Snibson, played by Tory Doctor insists on bringing along his girl, Sally, from Lambeth, London’s East End.

The aristocratic family’s reactions to the unexpected low-class heir, their efforts to educate him, the contrasts between the manor and Lambeth – all of the above are much exaggerated and very entertaining, the actors doing their best to provide the audience with a delightful slapstick comedy. The singing parts in Me And My Girl, especially Tory Doctor as Bill Snibson, Heather McGuigan as Sally and Keith Savage as Family Solicitor were very good, performed with obvious enjoyment. Some of the well-known melodies like "The Lambeth Walk", "Take It on the Chin" and "Leaning on the Lamp-post" recalled memories, the dance choreography completed the show. I was very impressed with the stage décor and handling of the changes, right there in front of our eyes, noiseless and smooth. What a great idea!

Drayton Entertainment led by Artistic Director Alex Mustakas, operates six stages, two in St. Jacobs, one in Drayton, two in Grand Bend and one in Penetanquishene. Their plays are mostly comedies, popular entertainment so much liked in cottage country. Some plays are repeated at different locations, some are produced only for one location. At St. Jacobs Country Playhouse the coming events are Moon Over Buffalo in August, The Heiress in October and Robin Hood in November.

The other locations feature 2 Pianos 4 Hands, The Odd Couple, Camelot, Oliver and Evita! in Grand Bend in August. The seasonal program could be obtained by calling the box office at 1-888-449-4463 or logging into the web-site for details of shows, seating and tickets availability www.draytonentertainment.com.