Ohio University learned how to be cool as the cast of West Side Story rumbled on the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium stage Thursday night.
West Side Story is a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that places the action in 1950s New York. Instead of feuding families, the dueling gangs of the Jets and the Sharks dance and snap their anger all over the stage. The rivalry comes to a boiling point when a Jet, Tony, falls in love with Maria, the sister of a Shark.
Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, said bringing this tour to OU was a “no brainer.”
“It’s a classic so a lot of people know it, so it’s a strong title for us to bring the Performing Arts Series to a close,” he said. “As a part of our survey, it ranked very high amongst both the students and our subscribers as far as preference to bring this particular tour.”
Chris Matter, executive director of advancement operations, said she has seen the musical before, but enjoyed the music and the dancing so much that she wanted to see it again. Matter said her favorite number is still the famed “America,” but “Gee, Officer Krupke” and the “Dance at the Gym” are next on her list after tonight’s performance.
For some students, like Madeline Keener, it was their first time seeing the classic show on stage. Because she is studying Spanish, Keener said she enjoyed the inclusion of Spanish lyrics and dialogue into the English libretto, an aspect of the play that began with the 2009 Broadway revival. The songs and tunes remain the same but certain lines of English dialogue and lyrics are replaced and are said and sung in Spanish.
Her roommate, Dani Shangold, said she enjoyed the addition as well.
“The Spanish made it seem more authentic,” said Shangold, a freshmen studying media arts and studies. “They’re from Puerto Rico; they’re not going to speak perfect English.”
Keener, a freshmen studying journalism, has seen the acclaimed 1961 film version but said she is able to appreciate the story more now that she is older and is more easily able to see the parallels between it and the Shakespeare story.
Shangold added she was particularly fond of the lead actor.
“Me gusta Tony,” she said.
@BuzzLightMeryl
mg986611@ohiou.edu
