‘West Side’ is hot commodity
Beth Colcord
All was hot in Glendale this past week as The Stepping Stone Players
presented the musical “West Side Story” in Hoover High School’s
steamy auditorium where both the actors and audience worked up a
sweat.
The story, based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” tells the
tale of two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, as they taunt each
other while vying for ownership of a small stretch of street
territory.
This is a story told also mainly through dance and I thought the
choreography in this production shone. The actors with lesser parts
were the top-notch dancers, except for Linda Campo, who had a lead
role as Anita and Bonnie McMahan who played Velma and who were both
just as good at dancing as acting or singing.
Patrick Tiller, who played the love-struck Tony, was a fabulous
singer and made me wish his part had more singing solos. Another
strong performer, Carina Morales, captured the innocent love of Maria
superbly and had a voice to match Tiller’s. And I have to mention
Michael Abramson, who nearly stole the show with the great acting
energy he put into his character Action.
The “West Side Story” orchestra played the familiar songs with no
orchestra pit, so the music and musicians were close and hard to
ignore. This made every sour note by the horns that much harder to
bear but the percussion section managed to rock the house and left
everyone dancing as they departed.
This is a hardworking community theater group that had wonderful
stage sets, fun costumes and a cast that put on a fun and poignant
show.
Someone needs to give them a break and provide them with a cooler
venue so more of us in the Glendale area could benefit from their
excellent productions.