West Side Story – REVIEW

On a clear, crisp night, with the fairy lights of city buildings as a backdrop on one side of the horizon, and a postcard-framing of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge on the other, Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (HOSH) is a breathtaking event even before the orchestra tunes up. 

This year, the giant pontoon stage will host a reprise production of the first, and arguably only (if you think of Phantom of the Opera as a hybrid), Broadway musical presented by HOSH, West Side Story. 

First staged on the water in 2019, West Side Story has proven to be one of HOSH’s most popular productions. This new mounting of the musical stays faithful to the original 1957 Broadway show, with director, Francesca Zambello and revival choreographer, Kiira Schmidt Carper, honouring the vision and spectacular choreography of Jerome Robbins. Indeed, it’s the broad, athletic, ballet-informed jazz movements in the many dance sequences that really benefit from the generous stage area. 

Conceived by Jerome Robbins, West Side Story is a re-setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet onto the ghetto streets of 1950s New York City. The Capulets and Montagues are replaced by the Jets and the Sharks, two rival gangs made up of angsty teens who are in constant battle for local turf in a low socio-economic neighbourhood. 

The Jets are all white American boys who come from unstable home environments and view the gang as their substitute family. Costume designer, Jennifer Irwin, has dressed them all in variations of torn jeans, denim jackets, white or blue t-shirts and singlets, giving them a strong American cultural aesthetic. 

The Sharks are comprised of young immigrant men from Puerto Rico who are bonded by blood ties or their connection to their homeland. They are dressed in reds and earth-tones.

Billy Bourchier and Nina Korbe are strong in the lead roles of Tony and Maria. Bourchier has a powerful voice which he gets to show off in “Maria” and “Something’s Coming”. Korbe’s voice has a much more operatic quality, corresponding with the style of Maria’s songs, and giving her character a sense of angelic innocence.

Patrick Whitbread is a high-spirited Riff filled with a youthful sense of importance. Manuel Stark Santos has come to this production from Broadway, and displays great presence on stage as Bernardo. 

Kimberley Hodgson is the confident, street-wise Anita, who is maternal and sexy in easy beats. 

Unabashedly racist police chief, Schrank is played a la classic Hollywood noir by Scott Irwin. His underling, Officer Krupke, played by Joe Clements, is two steps away from vaudeville villain. 

Everyone in the ensemble is great, and the dancing is superb. 

It’s a terrific production, although sometimes it doesn’t feel big enough for the stage. Those who have been to HOSH previously might feel underwhelmed by the comparative lack of expansive performance area, and effects. More could even have been done with lighting. 

One fault, which probably has more to do with the script, is that songs sung by Maria, Anita, and the Shark women are often unintelligible. This is because they are singing with an accent and the lyrics are quite congested (something Sondheim himself often expressed regret about). “America”, one of the highlight numbers, has some great punchlines but they were missed because it was difficult to hear them. 

By way of contrast, “Gee, Officer Krupke”, which is sung by The Jets and is basically a novelty song to provide some tension relief, is one of the most powerful numbers in the show because every punchline lands. 

West Side Story is undeniably a classic, and Leonard Bernstein’s music remains thrilling and emotionally charged. Experiencing this show surrounded by a shimmering harbour gives it a freshness and vitality that would be hard to get in any other setting. 

Until April 21

Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney

https://opera.org.au/productions/west-side-story-on-sydney-harbour/