West Side Story at The Bristol Hippodrome
Posted on: 2014-01-30
Our rating:
Broadway's greatest musical comes to Bristol
Arthur Laurents' powerful, moving and thrilling retelling of the classic Shakespearean tale comes to the Bristol Hippodrome from 28th January to 8th February 2014.
This production of West Side Story has been a massive smash-hit in Europe, the Guardian calling it "one of the towering achievements of musical theatre" and the Times naming it "Broadway's greatest dance musical". With the mixture of Jerome Robbins' original choreography, Stephen Sondheim's ever brilliant lyrics and a gorgeous score composed by Leonard Bernstein; the show immerses you in a whirlwind tale of passion, romance, anger and sorrow. The set design itself is something to be marvelled at. The poverty-stricken slums of New York where the story is based, are simply but effectively portrayed in a dynamic moving stage.
Taking it's inspiration from one of the greatest tragedies of all time, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story gives a gritty, touching and modern account of events. Two rival gangs, the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, are locked in constant battle over turf and national pride. Unwittingly, Tony (a former Jet) and Maria (the sister of the head Shark) fall into a deep romance that they pursue in secret beneath the unrelenting war between their families. However, with a death for both gangs, and each blaming each other, the romance is brought out into the open with devastating consequences.
This atmospheric story stars the brilliant Louis Maskell as Tony and Katie Hall who got through to the bootcamp stages of the BBC's I'd Do Anything, and appeared on Andrew Lloyd Webber's hunt for a Eurovision entry, in which she was a finalist, as Maria. Hall has also starred in the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary show as Cosette, so has a wealth of musical experience under her belt. The acting, singing and dancing is remarkable. In a show like this you get the feeling that every support character, every dancer and every movement is crucial to the show itself. It is a tight piece of engineering, pulled off only by the obvious dedication of everybody involved. For me, the stand-out performance was no doubt delivered by Maskell, playing Tony. His voice was stunning, and had everybody leaning toward the stage by the end of every spine-tingling song. A notable performance, too, by Djalenga Scott who played the part of the sassy Anita, strutting about the stage and exuding well-meant attitude until it was impossible to do anything other than love the character.
As expected, the show starts with an explosive musical number from rough-and-ready American gang, the Jets. The songs are accompanied by show-stopping dancing that not only entertains, but tells a story in itself. I was amazed at the way that the inevitable fight scenes did nothing to break the gracefulness of the performance, but were rather incorporated into the dance itself. It's dramatic, it's moving and it really strikes a chord with the audience.
West Side Story is undoubtedly one of the greatest tragic romances, told here with conviction, emotion and style. This production will make you laugh, cry, jump, and want to burst into song - a truly unmissable event.
Tickets are available from The Bristol Hippodrome website.
Reviewed by Miri Teixeira for 365Bristol.com
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
