'West Side Story' gamble scores at Central City Opera

By Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Monday, June 30, 2008

There are a couple of reasons West Side Story represents a huge gamble for Central City Opera: It's not really an opera, and it demands a cast of skilled dancers as well as singers.

On the other hand, it remains a fresh, vital, inspired theatrical treasure, and, most significant, this production unveiled on that tiny stage is positively brilliant.

Oh sure, there were some quibbles with the staging here and there - the biggest one at Saturday's opening involving the too-short curtain calls.

While loud cheers were hurled at the cast of dancing singers (emphasis on dancing) this production's true heroes never appeared: director Ken Cazan and choreographer Daniel Pelzig.

Cazan kept things moving, nimbly mixing the romance and tragedy with the show's sense of fun.Pelzig worked with the incomparable choreography created in 1957 by Jerome Robbins, recapturing its energy and originality without turning it into a museum-piece re-creation.

The Central City stage has rarely seen such fabulous dancing. America bubbled over with exuberant high-stepping, the explosive Dance in the Gym was close to perfect, and the Somewhere dream ballet avoided cloying cliche by keeping things simple and understated.

But what sticks in the memory are those extraordinary moments: Tony and Maria finding each other at the dance, the intricate Quintet before the rumble and that brutal battle itself - all staged, acted, sung and danced brilliantly.

Adding hugely to the production's success is the simple, movable walled set of Cameron Anderson and the sensitive lighting scheme of David Martin Jacques. And a wave of the switchblade goes to Andy Moss, who created those gritty, grueling fight scenes.

The cast was led by Gregory Turay's Tony and Sarah Jane McMahon's Maria - two gifted singers who brought to their vocals a velvety richness and focus that never turned operatic.

The supporting cast tossed off Robbins' complex steps with spontaneity, personality and bravura, and those singing Sharks and Jets handled Stephen Sondheim's brilliant words admirably - particularly the Anita of Stephanie Nelson, whose way with America and A Boy Like That demonstrated her wide vocal range.

In the pit, John Baril led a versatile orchestra that skipped merrily from big band jazz to intimate chamber music to uninhibited salsa. This score was Bernstein at his best, and the players honored his genius with a marvelous performance.

shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5296

West Side Story

* Grade: A-

* When and where: Continues in repertory through Aug. 9

* Cost: $45 to $93

* Information: 303-292-6700