"West Side Story"

West Side Story

Arthur Laurents (Book); Leonard Bernstein (Music);

Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)

Hillbarn Theatre

Jeffrey Brian Adams & Ana Paula Malagón

With a cast of thirty and an orchestra of fourteen, Hillbarn Theatre kicks off its seventy-eighth consecutive season with a West Side Story that proves that the sixty-plus-year-old musical is as current, relevant, and impactful today as it was in 1957.  As in every production of Romeo and Juliet, the crucial critique centers on the two lovers themselves – in this case, Italian-heritage Tony and recent-immigrant of Puerto Rico, Maria.  Among the myriad of inspired choices Director Erica Wyman Abrahamson has made for this Hillbarn production of West Side Story is the casting of Ana Paula Malagón as Maria and of Jeffrey Brian Adams as Tony.  Never is there any doubt of the immediate, magnetic attraction between the two – each initially glowing in innocence and naivite when it comes to love and each pulled in locked eyes to the other in a bond that even a brother’s murder cannot break. 

For my full review, please proceed to Talkin' Broadway:  https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/sanjose/sj133.html.

Rating: 5 E, “Must-See”

West Side Story continues through September 16, 2018 at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale Boulevard.  Tickets are available online at http://www.hillbarntheatre.org or by calling 650-349-6411.

Photo Credit: Mark and Tracy Photography