"West Side Story"

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Who has not seen the film, either the original or the more recent remake, or seen this iconic musical on stage? Well for those who have not, and are unaware of the story, here's a quick resume of what "West Side Story" is all about.....

Inspired by William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white American gang. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.

Obviously, neither gang are happy about this but what can you do when you fall in love? Try to drive a wedge in between the two lovers; but when that wedge has a sharpened edge, where will it all end?

Playing the lovestruck Romeo, Tony, is the Eagle award-winning Harrison Ince. What you notice about Harrison's performance is the chemistry he has with his Maria. When he sang about the joy of that first meeting with Maria, you could see that he felt every word that he was singing and there was a look of youthful joy on his face. Harrison believed in the character and the words he sung, and that made me believe the emotions of his character. I've actually seen Harrison before in a couple of other productions but he was always in the background. He has the ability for leading man material, as he has proven here.

Maria, our Juliet in the tale, is played by Jamillah Wells. "West Side Story" is heavily jazz and ballet orientated where the choreography is concerned and this is right up Jamillah's street, and you can see her come alive when dancing. This came as no surprise to me as I know that Jamillah comes from a dance school background and it shows, not only in her dance but the way that she holds herself. Jamillah reflects the chemistry that Harrison shows and between the pair they make a very believable couple.

Anita is played by Yara Johns-Ramos, and boy is Yara fiesty! When she is singing to Maria "A Boy Like That", you get the feeling that she means every word, as she spits out the hatred she feels for Tony, and the hurt shows in her face at having lost Bernardo. Likewise in the song "America", she delivers the put downs perfectly. And boy can she dance as well.

Bernardo, leader of The Sharks, is played by Brogan Haynes, and another young man that I have seen in various productions in other venues. Brogan has stage presence, which is what is needed by the hot-headed Bernardo. And he looks Peurto Rican as well, that could of course be down to great make up, but he looks, and sounds, and acts the fiery part that he is playing.

Riff is played by a young actor that I have had the pleasure of seeing on several occasions. It is a joy to follow someone's growth from the first view to date and I have seen George Young really grow into a very competent and natural young actor (and I am not just saying that because I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to his Mum outside, before the show). George came on stage and set the rules out as the leader of The Jets. His acting is forceful and he has drive in this role and his singing gets stronger every time I see him on stage. You can tell that he loves being on stage and that love for acting can be seen very clearly. He also shows great ability and conviction with his stage combat skills. Good luck with the Grade 6 Singing Exams, George.

Another young actor who I have had the pleasure of seeing several times now on stage is Louis Barnes-cupit who plays Action with great passion, and like George, he puts everything into his performance. The highlight in Louis' performance tonight though just has to be during the song "Gee Officer Krupke" because we get to see a more comic side of Action.

Jamie Adlams plays A-Rab, and I was talking about Jamie in the interval, stating how he sticks out - in a good way and not just because of his height and red hair - but because of his confidence as an actor. Now I know that I keep going on about confidence and acting, but when the actors are as young as some of these, confidence does not come as naturally as some may think, but Jamie draws you to him on stage. He is one to look out for going forward.

Daisy Donoghue, you may have seen in "All the Fun Of The Fair" at the Arts Theatre and "Picnic At Hanging Rock" at the Lace Market theatre of late, plays Anybodys, the tomboy who desperately wants to be a member of The Jets. Another very different role and another well received role. Daisy also is the Dance Captain for the show, and let's face it, with this show is no easy ride!

The rest of the Jets are Eloise Rees (Big Deal), Liam Brown (Baby John) - who put a smile on my face several times during the show - Preston Nash (Snow Boy), Amelia Watson (Diesel) with Caitlin Robinson, Esmie Smith-Cockayne, Elizabeth Kenny and Sofia Calloway (as Team Peurto Rico).

The Jet Girls are Olivia Bonham (Graziella), Harriet Campion (Velma) and Hermione Cumbers (Pauline).

I must also mention Jonathan Jaycock as Chino who turns in a very believable, and enjoyable performance in this musical.

The rest of The Shark Gang are Arlo Perrons (Pepe), Tristian Askew (Indio), Sydney Adams (Luis) and Logan Cordall (Juano).

The Shark Girls were Phoebe Bateman (Roasalia), Evie Martin (Consuelo), Kate Russell (Francisca) with Hannah Wood, Lois Stevenson, Malikea Smith, Sienna Woods, Stephanie Booth and Torni Sloman. These were for Team Puerto Rica, who alternate with Team America over the performances.

Playing Doc was Danniella Rose Stringer, who also delivered an absolutely faultless performance of "Somewhere". To start with I thought it was a recorded piece and really scrutinised her face to see if she was lip synching, but she wasn't. that voice seemed to come straight from Heaven.

In every musical you get an unforgettable duo and in this we have Jack Symington (Lieutenant Shrank) and Patrick Brannigan (Officer Krupke). As soon as they walked on stage, I felt a smile come to my face. Jack must be well over six foot tall and Patrick about four foot tall. That difference straight away broke the ice and while Jack's B-Movie bad cop performance as Shrank made you sit up and take note, Patrick's natural comic ability shone through. really entertaining.

Playing Gladhand, the last of the adult characters, was Katie-Mae Faulkner.

As you can tell, the cast list was massive!

Directed by Marie Rogers - who I am pleased to see up on her feet again and getting stronger every day. Marie has really created the needed tension in this musical and you can feel the unease and danger, especially in The Rumble scene. She has really brought out the very best acting abilities from every single one of these actors, even the very young ones; you can really tell the hard work that has been put in, by all, by the results seen on stage. The section with the Rumble was oozing testosterone and the fight choreography was tense, edge of the seat stuff, and the ending where Tony gets killed and carried aloft on The Jets' shoulders was really emotional.

Choreographed by Amy Rogers-Gee, and like I said earlier, the jazz and ballet styles are not that easy for most adults to get right, but these kids have nailed them, along with the other dance styles within the musical. There are some very acrobatic sections which will make your jaw drop, as I certainly wasn't expecting them.

Musical Direction is by Sam Griffiths, and you can see the hard work put in here as well. The soundtrack is not the easiest to perform, especially when some of the voices are not quite strong enough to get the notes and ranges required for this quite operatic of musicals. If this is revisited in a couple of years' time, with the same cast and with more voice maturity and training, it could be amazing. But that is all down to the age of the actors and their voices receiving the training needed for some of the really big songs and notes.

There are so many well-known songs in this much-loved musical, many of which have also graced the National pop charts over the decades, "Tonight", "Maria" and "Somewhere" being the most well-known, but then there are the instantly recognisable musical theatre classics like "The Jet Song", "Something's Coming", "Gee Officer Krupke", "America", "I Feel Pretty" and the irresistibly romantic "One Hand, One Heart". Everyone a gem.

Sound for this show was spot on, as was the lighting design; unfortunately, I couldn't see in the programme who to credit but have a feeling it may be thanks to College Street Technical Services.

The Set Design by Mark and Alison Russell was wonderful and moody with both sides of the set props folding out to reveal the interior of Maria's bedroom and Doc's bar as well as the dress-making area, plus the scene for the Rumble and the balcony scenes.

And before I forget, the accents all round were marvellous.

There is absolutely nothing to not like about this production and the cast deserved their rapturous applause from an almost full theatre, something that I've not seen for quite a while at the Arts Theatre. Maybe word is getting around, finally, of the quality that lies behind that pink exterior.

"West Side Story" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre for more than just Tonight in fact it's here until Sunday 11 September.