The most beautiful sound Stephen Sondheim ever heard must have been the tinkling of the Maestro's genius fingers upon the keys of some grand piano made even grander by the hands that touched it. Leonard Bernstein was the definitive American musician of this century.
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West Side Story
Tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.
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Bernstein's greatest contribution to American culture is "West Side Story," the modern musical version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." While the Shakespearean themes of good and evil and love and hate are still prevalent not only in the musical, but in today's society as well, Bernstein altered the meaning of the story by adding a dash of racism to the already tragedy.
Pitting the WASPy Jets against the Puerto Rican Sharks added a great depth to the conflict of the doomed love story. Because of the existing race relations within Manhattan during the '50s, the story not only seemed real, it seemed a likely possibility of actually happening.
Everyone knows at least one song from "West Side Story." It is a jewel in the treasure chest of American art. With such classic gems as "Maria," "Tonight," and "Somewhere," the musical has provided American music with some of the greatest songs ever
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| ADRIANA YUGOVICH/Daily James Luxton and Adriene Daigneault are Tony and Maria in "West Side Story."
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The School of Music's musical theater department is presenting "West Side Story" this weekend as the closing production of its annual season. Directed by Prof. Gary Bird, "West Side Story" will showcase the talents of many students, including those of James Luxton, a Music junior and Adriene Daignaeult, a Music senior, who play Tony and Maria.
Prof. Bird "has described this show as being an abstract impressionistic interpretation of the classic musical," Luxton said.
"It focuses on the way in which one brush stroke can represent more than itself and expand what reality is. Because of the music and all of it's rhythms, there's more to it than just any specific stroke," he explained.
"In preparation for rehearsals, Gary had us do an animal study. We had to pick an animal and act out our roles in our animal selves. We weren't supposed to think our lines, but respond as if we were our animals. It was a form of experimentation that allowed us to physicalize the acting instead of internalizing it. In many acting classes actors are taught to internalize their emotions. For this show, we had to physicalize it because of the demands of the choreography," Luxton said.
Jerome Robbins' original choreography is given new life by visiting Broadway performer Mark Esposito.
Esposito has appeared in the recent Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls," "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," and the national tour of "Damn Yankees."
"West Side Story" will be accompanied by a group of student musicians under the direction of Kevin Sedatole, who also serves as the director for the Michigan Marching Band.
About his role, Luxton explained the admiration he has for Tony. "Every male tenor sings 'Maria' in studio or showcases, but not that many have the opportunity to actually perform it in an actual production. I'm really excited to be able to get this chance," Luxton said.
"The song I love most is 'Maria.' It's a tritone, one of the most atonal things in Western music. It just repeats over and over again. It's important because this song is the very word and the very woman he dies for," Luxton said.
As with almost every musical theater production on campus, the regular performances of "West Side Story" have sold out.
Fortunately, the powers-that-be have decided to open tonight's dress rehearsal to the public for reduced ticket prices.
Reduced-priced student tickets for tonight's dress rehearsal of "West Side Story" are available at the League Ticket Office for $5. All other performances have sold out. Call 763-0450 for more information.
04-15-98
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