West Side Story (Tab Operatic Society)
It's true to say that there are many well known and well performed pieces of musical theatre, however there are probably only a handful of truly iconic shows, one of those has to be the Romeo & Juliet inspired West Side Story with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. If you are going to take that one on as a production you have already set the bar stratospherically high with numerous stage interpretations and a movie that almost the whole planet must have seen at least once, such a challenge has been accepted by Tab Operatic Society in their latest offering which I thankfully managed to catch the final dress rehearsal of at Stourbridge Town Hall.
After recent critical acclaim on stage, local theatre legend Leon Davies takes the director's chair this time and weaves a smouldering web of emotions from the performers. Choreography can only be from one person, that's the one who as I glanced to my right on various occasions is living every well crafted dance move as if she were actually performing them, the other half of this husband and wife partnership Rachel Davies. Musical Director Tom Porter has another legend in the form of Mr Bernstein to live up to and what he might lack in flamboyance, he and his musicians certainly make up for in accuracy and mood, without which the production would certainly be missing something vital.
When it comes to performance there are many superlatives to use for a skilfully proficient cast but, striking gold are Beth Berwick-Lowe as a divinely endearing Maria and an intoxicatingly sumptuous performance as Anita by Fleur Petford, their performance of 'A Boy Like That' is probably one of the most vocally and visually impeccable numbers I have experienced in a long time.
Dan Smith provides an enigmatic portrayal of Tony, Riff is played with energetic exuberance by Grant Chapman and Mitchell Bastable's stylish performance as Bernardo goes to prove that the guys are giving the girls a run for their money. Not every character in a musical has to sing and Stephen Homer's demandingly inquisitive Lieutenant Shrank, an appealingly comic performance by John Cooper as Officer Krupke and a great cameo as the long suffering Doc by Darren Richards, prove that point without doubt.
This story does of course have feuding gangs as one of its core themes and there is an assembled depth of stagecraft in both male and female members of the The Jets/The Sharks, including some enthralling specific performances from Oliver Keeling (Action), James Bastable (Baby John), Sam Houlston (Chino), Corinne Hancox (Rosalia) and Louise Griffin (Teresita), in fact the whole supporting cast add much to the audience journey.
Special mention to Olivia Ashley-Smith who after only five rehearsals picked-up and ran seamlessly with the role of Anybodys, a somewhat pivotal part that needed a strong performance and absolutely got one.
If you want to make sure you immerse yourself in this powerful, moving and yet intensely entertaining slice of theatre experience, I suggest you make your booking now as tales of sold-out performances already abound and it only runs until Saturday 10th March 2018.
Book Here
After recent critical acclaim on stage, local theatre legend Leon Davies takes the director's chair this time and weaves a smouldering web of emotions from the performers. Choreography can only be from one person, that's the one who as I glanced to my right on various occasions is living every well crafted dance move as if she were actually performing them, the other half of this husband and wife partnership Rachel Davies. Musical Director Tom Porter has another legend in the form of Mr Bernstein to live up to and what he might lack in flamboyance, he and his musicians certainly make up for in accuracy and mood, without which the production would certainly be missing something vital.
When it comes to performance there are many superlatives to use for a skilfully proficient cast but, striking gold are Beth Berwick-Lowe as a divinely endearing Maria and an intoxicatingly sumptuous performance as Anita by Fleur Petford, their performance of 'A Boy Like That' is probably one of the most vocally and visually impeccable numbers I have experienced in a long time.
Dan Smith provides an enigmatic portrayal of Tony, Riff is played with energetic exuberance by Grant Chapman and Mitchell Bastable's stylish performance as Bernardo goes to prove that the guys are giving the girls a run for their money. Not every character in a musical has to sing and Stephen Homer's demandingly inquisitive Lieutenant Shrank, an appealingly comic performance by John Cooper as Officer Krupke and a great cameo as the long suffering Doc by Darren Richards, prove that point without doubt.
This story does of course have feuding gangs as one of its core themes and there is an assembled depth of stagecraft in both male and female members of the The Jets/The Sharks, including some enthralling specific performances from Oliver Keeling (Action), James Bastable (Baby John), Sam Houlston (Chino), Corinne Hancox (Rosalia) and Louise Griffin (Teresita), in fact the whole supporting cast add much to the audience journey.
Special mention to Olivia Ashley-Smith who after only five rehearsals picked-up and ran seamlessly with the role of Anybodys, a somewhat pivotal part that needed a strong performance and absolutely got one.
If you want to make sure you immerse yourself in this powerful, moving and yet intensely entertaining slice of theatre experience, I suggest you make your booking now as tales of sold-out performances already abound and it only runs until Saturday 10th March 2018.
Book Here
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