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<\/a>The photo op mural in the lobby of the Fred Kavli Theatre. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
Very surprisingly for a lifelong theatre-goer, I had never seen a stage production of West Side Story<\/em> before. Of course<\/em> I’ve watched\u00a0the classic film<\/em> version, which I detest that Hollywood is doing a remake of. You cannot remake perfection, Steven Spielberg! (I wish that his mother, Leah, whom I met years ago because she was a fan of my show, was still around so I could tell her to scold him for me!!!)<\/p>\n Karen Salkin and George Chakiris. Photo by Mr. X.<\/p><\/div>\n But back to this<\/em> wonderful entertainment in Thousand Oaks, (which you can still see this Thursday-Sunday.) The opening night started-out with a bang when 5 Star Theatricals\u2019Artistic Director, Patrick Cassidy, introduced the original movie\u2019s Bernardo, Oscar-winner George Chakiris, to wild appreciation from the audience! How supportive of George to be there! I\u2019ve known him casually for several years now, and I can attest to how darling he is. And after chatting with him for almost the entire intermission, Mr. X and I went home and re-watched all his dance scenes in the film. Wow! Just wow. (No wonder<\/em> none of the males in this stage show lived up to my expectations. More on that in a bit.)<\/p>\n For a regional theatre company (i.e. not Broadway or a National Tour) to do West Side Story<\/em> is a majorly ambitious undertaking, which is\u00a0successful for the most part.\u00a0 Is it exactly the Broadway quality that most of their productions are?\u00a0 Not fully.\u00a0 But it\u2019s definitely a very<\/em> worthwhile presentation. And everyone should<\/em> see it, especially people who\u2019ve never witnessed the story on a stage before. We SoCal peeps are fortunate to be able to get familiar with the scenario ahead of that remake coming out next year.<\/p>\n This is probably the most gigantic cast Five Star Theatricals has ever worked with.<\/p>\n The Sharks and Jets. Photo by Ed Krieger, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n If this production had been a rumble between the guys <\/em>and gals<\/em>, (instead the Jets and Sharks,) the girls would have taken it, hands-down. Lauren Louis, as the spitfire Anita, is the singing-dancing hit of the show. I also adored Giselle Torres, who plays Maria. Her voice is just beautiful. She\u2019s absolutely perfect for the role! In both voice and looks, she reminds me a bit of a young Anna Maria Alberghetti. I have a feeling that it\u2019s her real-life<\/em> sweetness coming through in her performance. (At least I hope<\/em> it is! If not, she\u2019s an even better actress than I\u2019m giving her credit for.) 5 Star Theatricals is uber-lucky to have found these two very talented young ladies!<\/p>\n Giselle Torres and Lauren Louis. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n And Taleen Shrikian shows her performance chops on America<\/em>. She adds a bit of spice and comedy flair to that already-fun number.<\/p>\n Mr. X said that Antonia Vivino was \u201call in on her character\u201d of Anybodys, the tomboy who hangs around the Jets. (We have always had an affinity for Anybodys; years ago, when a hairdresser erroneously cut off all my hair\u2014yes, all<\/em> of it\u2014Mr. X tried to cheer me up by telling me I looked like a famous Broadway girl. Unfortunately for me, it was Anybodys. It took me years to look normal again! And now I rarely let scissors near my head\u2014hence, my waist-length tresses. But if I could sing and dance like Antonia, I might be able to deal with having short hair.)<\/p>\n (L-R) At the party, the girl in the great outfit, Antonia Vivino in the background, and Karen Salkin curious about it all! Photo by Mr. X.<\/p><\/div>\n By the way, the females also won for the fashions<\/em> at the opening night party. I almost didn\u2019t recognize Antonia in a fancy dress and heels, and Giselle was all cool and casual in skinny jeans and a jacket. But the absolute winner was the girl in a blue-and-white polka-dot dress, with clunky black boots!!! [Note: I tried to find that dress for myself the very next day. (I already have those hips boots, of course!) When the salesgirl asked what size, I said I\u2019ll take whatever they have\u2014if it\u2019s a small, I\u2019ll lose<\/em> weight and if it\u2019s a large, trust me–I\u2019ll be happy to beef-up a tad! That’s easy for me. So, big props to either Lauren Louis or Erin Gonzales or someone else; I\u2019m not sure which girl was rocking it because I had eyes for only that outfit!!! So, if you<\/em> know, please tell me in the Comments section below.]<\/p>\n I\u2019m afraid that the men, on the other hand, don\u2019t quite live up to the women in the musical. But Brandon Keith Rogers, as Tony, duets beautifully with Giselle, especially on the classic love song, Tonight<\/em>, (which has not left my head all week-end!) I love the blend of their voices. (And those very many stage kisses between that duo are the juiciest I\u2019ve ever seen! I\u2019m just sayin\u2019.)<\/p>\n One thing that had me confused is why Aleks Pevec, who plays Riff, the leader of the Jets, is doing a Boston accent. The characters are totally New York City kids\u2014if any of the performers feel the need to perform with regional accents, it should be New York<\/em> ones. (And if any actor can not<\/em> do it properly, the director should step in and stop the attempt. Incorrect New York accents really rub this Brooklyn girl the wrong way!)<\/p>\n Giselle Torres and Brandon Keith Rogers. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n But absolutely everyone<\/em> shined in the group dance numbers! They were spectacular! A lot of effort went into those, especially on the part of the choreographer, Karl Warden, who kept the numbers looking new<\/em>, but so in the style of Jerome Robbins, who had conceived the entire original production. Great job on the dancing, all the way around.<\/p>\n The people in all<\/em> the other creative categories came through, as well.<\/p>\n I really appreciated the simple, fluid sets. Each location is well-defined without being overbearing. [Note: I was surprised that there is no Set Design credit in the program, or you know I would have stated that person’s name.]<\/p>\n (L-R) Jared Cardiel, Giselle Torres, Patrick Ortiz, and Lauren Louis. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n And Natalie Woods’ dress in the film!<\/p><\/div>\n I have to give kudos to the Costume Designer, Kathryn Poppen, for all<\/em> of the colorful wardrobe, but especially for coming very close to Natalie Woods\u2019 white-and-red-sashed dress from the film. That small detail makes the initial scene where Maria and Tony first spot each other even more special.<\/p>\n And what would the show be without the gorgeous music from Leonard Bernstein?! From the second we heard the first notes from this fabulous Jeff Rizzo-led orchestra, we were hooked.<\/p>\n I never realized this before, but West Side Story<\/em> is like Peanuts<\/em>\u2014there are no parents! And only a couple of grown-ups, as authority figures!\u00a0 (After I had already written this, I finally had the time to read the program, and four of the characters are even listed as \u201cThe Adults.\u201d I rest my case.)<\/p>\n I really want to laud 5 Star Theatricals for the fact that the program lists not only every single kid<\/em> who is in one scene, (and<\/em> gives every actor all the space they want for their bios,) but also all of the musicians<\/em>, and in a featured spot, too, not in some little letters on the back page. I love all of that.<\/p>\n Taleen Shrikian, Giselle Torres, Cheyenne Omani, and Veronica Gutierrez. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n Here\u2019s a little bit of inside information that I got directly from George Chakiris that night. He told me that every single stage production of West Side Story<\/em>, no matter where, must<\/em>\u00a0do it as<\/em> written<\/em>. They can\u2019t change anything! I think that\u2019s mainly great, but I like the order of the songs better in the film<\/em>.<\/p>\n And intermission should really come immediately after the big Act I group number, which features everybody<\/em> on stage singing at the same time, although different songs and ostensibly in various locations. But even though that first act is already about an hour and a half long, it continues with the big \u201crumble\u201d scene, which should really open Act II. But I think the powers-that-be on Broadway did it this sort-of nutty way because they didn\u2019t want to have the upbeat number, I Feel Pretty<\/em>, come right on the heels of all the murders. (That song opens the second act.) This<\/em> way, they give the audience a break after the violence, and then treat them to a happy number. So I guess it was a choice between an overlong first act or a horrified second act audience. So perhaps\u00a0they did<\/em> make the right choice, after all.<\/p>\n The number that I feel should close Act I. Photo by Ed Krieger.<\/p><\/div>\n Let me close this review on a very happy note: This Fall will mark the 25th anniversary of 5 Star Theatricals\u2019 existence, which they\u2019ll be celebrating with their next production, The Music<\/em> Man<\/em>. And here\u2019s a bit of a fun trivia about it–the movie<\/em> version of that Tony-winning musical starred none other than the beautiful Shirley Jones, who is the mother of the aforementioned head honcho of this theatre company, Patrick Cassidy! How kismet-esque is that?!<\/p>\n West Side Story<\/em>\u00a0running through August 4, 2019<\/strong> WEST SIDE STORY West Side Story is Mr. X\u2019s favorite Broadway musical of all time! So even though he\u2019s one of those people who doesn\u2019t like to travel far in Los Angeles, he joined me in Thousand Oaks for 5 Star Theatricals\u2019 rendition of it, which he didn\u2019t mind doing at all since he had<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza–Fred Kavli Theatre<\/strong>
\n 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Thousand Oaks 805-449-2787\u00a0www.5startheatricals.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"