The Suburban Players (founded in 1963) pride themselves on being an amateur ensemble but they grow more professional with every production – raising the bar with West Side Story this month and a cast of 63 (according to a quick count, it seemed like more), they jumped virtually all the hurdles like the athletes of the ongoing Olympics. Whatever are they going to do next, Phantom of the Opera (in fact, Peter Schaffer’s Black Comedy comes next)?
Superbly directed by Peter Macfarlane (with lifelong links to Suburban Players throughout its history), the production does full justice to Leonard Bernstein’s unforgettable music and iconic songs with the remarkable lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. Singing, dancing and acting all top notch with the choreography deserving special praise. The austere mise-en-scène of scaffolding throughout is brought to life by dynamic multi-colour lighting, which virtually replaces it – one of this production’s strengths.
The main kink noted by this reviewer (attending the final dress rehearsal last Wednesday) was the sound, which may be unfair to highlight since the expertise of Peter Macfarlane & Co will surely iron out the problems ahead of the five official perfornances. While raucous sound in some ways matches the vibrant urban backdrop, the musical accompaniment was too loud at times and ceased to be background music, obtruding instead – the voices are good enough to stand on their own. The synchronisation of the microphones could also do with some further finetuning which it will surely receive.
Turning to the cast, Guadalupe Devoto as Maria comes very close to being “the most beautiful sound I ever heard” – Sarah Brightman in the Brightman Hall of Northlands School (where the five performances will be held). As it happens, she is the least Latino-looking of the Sharks – the production has taken advantage of Argentina’s diverse ethnic mosaic to divide the supporting cast very intelligently into Puerto Rican-looking Sharks and Jets reflecting the Central and North European immigrant origins of the original story – but with her singing and acting abilities who cares and who misses Natalie Wood?
Axel Munton (Tony) is an extremely talented young man who holds the production together beyond his star role. An excellent actor, he sings beyond his natural abilities – not effortlessly like Maria and sometimes struggling to maintain pitch and volume but a total success.
Lucas Gerson as the Jet leader Riff deserves special mention for not only his singing and acting but also giving his co-starring role an extra dimension as simultaneously a hoodlum and a true friend of Tony. Ditto for Carmela Devoto (Anita) on the Shark and female side, standing out among the Puerto Rican girls with their brightly coloured dresses.
Indeed this reviewer found the entire cast equal or superior to the 1961 film, only missing the Bernardo of George Chakiris. Which should not be read as a criticism of Diego San Miguel acting that role – he might not be George Chakiris but perhaps closer to a Puerto Rican gang leader.
The other supporting actors – Chino (Stanley Nash), Action (Matthew Munton), Doc (Veronica Taylor), Police Lieutenant Shrank (Nicolás Sansalone) and Officer Krupke (Mike Young) all held up their ends with Alice Penn as acting coach. Sansalone, who starred in “Who’s in Bed with the Butler?” a couple of months ago, found himself in a bit part this time but injected a racist bite into his policeman.
The immortality of "West Side Story," a latter-day Romeo and Juliet against a background of a turf war between two urban gangs, has just been renewed – not to be missed (information on how to book tickets on https//thesuburbanplayers.com)
--TIMES
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