Behind the Scenes at West Side Story
Photography by Madison Weikle
Logan Browder, staff writer
West Side Story, a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein and directed by Jerome Robbins, debuted in 1957. Since then, there have been many adaptations of the musical. Now, West Side Story is coming to PVCC. Directors Brad Stoller and Shelley Cole are bringing the musical to life April 5, 6, and 7 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 at 2:30 p.m.
West Side Story is a reimagining of the classic story Romeo and Juliet. Set in 1950s New York City, West Side Story shows the rivalry of two gangs the Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang. Tony and Maria are the star-crossed lovers. Tony is a former member of the Jets who falls in love with Maria, the sister of the Sharks’ leader Bernardo.
Jonah Goodman is set to play Tony in PVCC’s production of West Side Story. Goodman is a dual enrollment student at PVCC. West Side Story will be his first production with the school. Goodman said the role of Tony is overly romanticized and that the role of Tony is actually a bit creepy. Goodman further explained there was a great deal of innocence behind Tony’s intentions, but they often came off as creepy. He said, “He is weird, but doesn’t really know he’s being weird.”
January marked the beginning of rehearsals for the show. The cast has been meeting every week since then to work on the musical. Any actor not on the stage is working on another part of the show either on their own or with a partner. Actors were scattered throughout the hallway behind the theater running lines and cues, while others rehearsed choreography.
Goodman said, “There are a couple types of production. There will be ones where everything is cut and dry and everyone knows exactly what they are doing all the way through, then there are the ones that are kind of chaotic right until the last moment and they end up kind of being awesome, and I feel like that’s sort of what’s going on here.”
Before rehearsal began, the cast gathered in the black box theater next to the main theater. Everyone was quiet. Many of the actors stretched, while some sat patiently.
Onstage, the actors worked on the first act. At first, the cast was unsure of the blocking due to lack of attendance. In the following scenes, actors maneuvered five large seesaws to the middle of the stage where members of the cast balanced on either side. The seesaws were modular and doubled as benches later in the show. The actors then worked on blocking a small fight sequence between a police officer and a gang member; to make the hits and blows look real both actors must be in sync with each other.
In some scenes where actors were absent, the co-director Brad Stoller would jump into their roles. He was able to act while keeping his mind present enough to give others notes. Attendance is often an issue at rehearsals since members have other commitments like work and school. Stephen Payne, who plays Diesel, a member of the Jets, is a second-year student at PVCC. West Side Story is his third show with PVCC. Payne said, “There have been issues with me missing a lot of rehearsals due to work.”
Stephen Payne said his favorite part of the show was learning the choreography, since many of his previous roles did not have much.
To anyone on the fence about seeing West Side Story, Payne said, “It’s a real humdinger of a play. It touches on a lot of social issues like racism and living in impoverished conditions. A story about how people, despite conflicts, in times of tragedy people will come together. And it’s important that we break down those barriers in such a creative way.”
