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Something’s Coming
West Side Story Arrives at The Colonial Theatre
As revived by Tony Award winner, Arthur Laurents, West Side Story is taking the stage at Boston’s Colonial Theatre for a four week run as part of Broadway Across America tour.
The original West Side Story began with the help of Laurent, starting as a modern age Romeo and Juliet, the story of forbidden love. The earliest idea was for the play to be set in New York’s Lower East Side, and the conflict would be between Jews and Catholics during the Easter holiday and Passover. Later the conflict was modified to be focused on race rather than religion. The original production earned six Tony Awards, together with Best Musical in 1957.
The production’s revival began in February 2009 at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. After just 30 weeks of running, West Side Story regained its $14 million investment. Twenty-seven previews and 748 performances have made this play the longest running production of the musical in Broadway history.
Laurents’ revival has brought the production forth to the 21st century and yes, the overall plot is the same; Maria and Tony still fall in love, and the differences between the Puerto Rican Sharks and the Jets keep the two lovers apart. The key to the revival was adding the Spanish language into the dialogue and songs. If the play is in all English, it is easy for the audience to see the Jets as the “good guys” and the Sharks as the antagonists simply because they speak in another language. But when West Side Story was performed in Bogota, the tables turned. “When Spanish is the hometown language, the Sharks become the heroes and the Jets become the villains,” commented Laurents. A common ground was set for the current rendition of WSS, blending both the Spanish and English language, although to make it easier for the audience, only about 12 percent of the production is in Spanish. Laurents wanted to take away the original innocence that was a part of the 1957 West Side Story; the gangs have become edgier, and the cutesy 50s jargon has been upgraded with strong actions such as menacing stares, because of course this is a musical about gangs in New York.
Under the direction of Joey McKneely, the overall aim to update WSS followed through. McKneely, as head choreographer, threw out the outdated dance moves and replaced them with raw moves to give West Side Story a shot of reality. His technique is explaining to the dancers that they are conveying a specific action and feeling. “He told us that when the Sharks do that high kick to the side, the first step is like a knife; you’re putting a knife in the floor for territory. You’re saying that things are going to be different now,” spoke George Akram, the original role of Bernardo on Broadway.
Alexandra Frohlinger plays Anybodys in the Broadway national tour, and she is back home in Boston after graduating from her studies at the Boston Conservatory. Ironically, Frohlinger played the same role of Anybodys in the Boston Conservatory’s own production of West Side Story during her senior year, but once you upgrade to Broadway – everything changes. “In this run we have made the gangs more violent and realistic, more muscular. With 12 percent of the play being in Spanish, the musical speaks to a different audience when it’s done in a different language,” commented Frohlinger. After securing her role, rehearsals in New York consisted of a month of six day long weeks from 10-6. Simply, Anybodys is the tomboy of the Jets, she doesn’t belong anywhere. While all the other girls are doing pique turns in gorgeous gowns, Anybodys is dressed in a ragged sweatshirt and jeans, but realistically dancing in sneakers is preferred over heels. Out of all the changes made to Laurents’ West Side Story, the adjustment that has affected Frohlinger is her monumental inclusion in the song Cool. In every previous production, Anybodys hasn’t been included in the piece, just another example of how West Side Story has changed in a matter of 50 years. “Doing West Side Story, you learn from the person next to you. As a student, I overworked but I have learned how to pace myself with doing eight shows a week. You have to keep things fresh from night to night; you never stop learning as an actor.”
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