Review: Sarasota's Asolo Rep stage a thrilling 'West Side Story'
Even before the first word is spoken or sung, you get the feeling that Asolo Repertory Theatre's new production of "West Side Story" is going to be something special. The deliberately off-kilter set by Lee Savage, the lovely but powerful music by a 14-piece pit orchestra and the energetic and evocative dancing of the young cast immediately promise great things.
When the cast starts singing the songs of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, you know the promise is going to be fulfilled and even exceeded.
Asolo Rep's "West Side Story" is simply fantastic.
Director Joey McKneely, who's making his Asolo Rep debut, is a "West Side Story" specialist. He's directed it all over the world, and in the 2009 Broadway revival directed by Arthur Laurents, McKneely "reproduced" Jerome Robbins' revolutionary choreography. (The program for the Asolo Rep production credits McKneely for that same choreographic contribution.)
One of the things he likes to do is to cast very young actors. He's done that here, with a cast made up mostly of performers who are on the Mertz Theatre stage for the first time.
He has sacrificed nothing for the sake of youth. The cast delivers exceptional performances of every single song in the show. Everyone in the audience knows almost every song from the show, in versions performed by some of the world's greatest singers, but every vocal performance in this production stands up to some of the best.
Vocally, Marc Koeck as Tony is the most impressive, with a chillingly gorgeous tenor that can make you feel as though you're hearing "Maria" and "Tonight" for the first time.
Koeck's not as good an actor as he is a singer, though, and his characterization of Tony is unconvincing.
The rest of the acting's excellent, though. Among the standouts are Tahlia Joanna Byers, a former and long-time Manatee Players regular who plays the tomboy Anybody's, St. Petersburg's Steven Sean Garland as Lieutenant Schrank, Jenna Burns as Maria and Marie Antonini as Anita.
The only weakness worth mentioning in this production comes because of the small
cast. About a dozen of the show's smaller roles have been eliminated, and the difference is very noticeable in several of the dance numbers, when only a few dancers are onstage for dances that could benefit from a dozen. The prime example is the "America" dance, which looks limp despite great individual performances.
For people who love musical theater, "West Side Story" is something sacred. It's probably in most people's list of their top 10 favorites, and in a lot of people's top five. In its first incarnation did things that had never been done before and it changed forever the concept of what musicals could be. It could be daunting task to take it on, but Asolo Rep, director McKneely and an absolutely phenomenal cast and design team take it on courageously and, for people who are lucky enough to see it, actually enhance the show's legacy.
Details: Through Dec. 27, Mertz Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $15.50-$100. Information: 941-351-8000, asolorep.org.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Review: Sarasota's Asolo Rep stage a thrilling 'West Side Story' ."