West Side Story
at Welland Centennial

Reviewed on April 26, 2014

Mackenzie Senske
Laura Secord Secondary
Submitted for publication to

On Saturday, April 28, Welland Centennial came out of the darkness, snapping their fingers to give a wonderful performance of West Side Story. Despite being set in the 1950s, director Iraina Neufeld and her talented cast made their rendition feel modern and fun.

Based on Shakespeare`s play Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story tells the story of two ill-fated lovers (Tony and Maria) who cannot be together because they are from separate gangs. Tony is a Jet and Maria is a Shark. After meeting at a dance, they soon find themselves fighting against an old turf war to stay together.

Jessica Wilson, who played Maria, gave a strong and moving performance. Wilson did an excellent job of displaying the full spectrum of emotions, especially in the final moving scene. Wilson also had a powerful and stunning singing voice.

Daphne Mowat's Anita was feisty and energetic. Mowat did an excellent job of building her character through her costume-flinging her skirt this way and that to accentuate her point. Mowat also showed that she could play the opposite of that—calming down and becoming more emotional in the second act.

Both the Shark and the Jet ensembles were well-organized and lively. Each ensemble felt authentic and real. One could almost sense the brotherhood between the boys on stage. Both Austin Wheeler (as Riff) and Zach Voth (as Bernardo) gave good, supporting performances as the gang leaders.

The set was a surprising 2000 pound steel fire escape and was the perfect, simple backdrop for the story to unfold. A cityscape was projected onto a screen, but never distracted from the action. The set transformed with smooth transitions several times into Doc's shop, Maria's bedroom and the clothing shop where Maria worked. Each location was just enough to allow the audience to focus entirely on the actors.

The Jets and Sharks were easily distinguishable by their costumes—red and black, structured pieces for the Sharks; polos and blue jeans for the Jets. Each group's clothing was influenced by their culture. The costumes only helped to elaborate upon the 1950s atmosphere.

The six person band did a wonderful job with the difficult score. Both American and Puerto Rican influences could be heard in the music. One of the most impressive feats of the musical was the perfectly choreographed and timed dancing. During the community dance, both the Jets and the Sharks demonstrated their talent with a dance-off. "Gee, Officer Krupke" was one of the show's best numbers, and featured the Jets ensemble dancing in perfect time and with flawless precision.

Welland Centennial's performance of West Side Story is a fun, energetic rendition that will have you snapping your fingers too.

Marissa Giuliani
Lakeshore Catholic High School
Submitted for publication to

Take the classic love tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and envision it in the back streets of Manhattan, New York City, add a few melodies, some contemporary choreography and voila you have an Academy award winning musical, West Side Story. The exhilarating teenage urban love story is loved by many for its high energy, terrific songs and spectacular dance numbers and Welland Centennial's production of the musical certainly did not fall short of high expectations.

West Side Story is set in New York City's upper west side and revolves around the feud between two gangs, the Jets who are native to the neighborhood and have been running the streets for years and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants looking to establish their own turf. Tony, a former member of the Jets goes to a community dance one night and falls in love with Maria, the younger sister of Bernardo who is the leader of the Sharks. Naturally the two are forbidden to be together as the Sharks and Jets despise each other, but further obstacles get in the way of true love as the two gangs decide to brawl for control over the neighbourhood and devastating consequences occur.

The show featured an extremely large cast of over fifty students, but the large number of people only aided in providing the big scape musical with high energy and never ending entertainment. The acting was exceptional, the choreography was outstanding, and the singing phenomenal. It was obvious that Welland Centennial had put their heart and soul into making the production the best it could possibly be, and their hard work certainly paid off.

The lead characters of Maria (Jessica Wilson) and Tony (Derrick Thibault) portrayed a very convincing tale of "love at first sight" and both had remarkable singing capabilities. Anita (Daphne Mowat) was also a noteworthy performer able to provide comic relief with her firecracker personality.

Other memorable characters included Riff (Austin Wheeler) whose song and dance skills brought energy and charisma to the show, as well as A-Rab (Bryce Stadnyk) and Action (Bradley Doyle) who both had fantastic acting confidence and stage presence.

The set pieces used in the show were simple but elaborately built, including an old set of fire escape stairs which truly brought the New York City scene to life. The stage was very well used, and special effects were present in the form of fake cigarettes, gunshots and fog machines all lending a sense of reality to the performance. The costumes were also very well designed setting apart the New York City Jets in their all-american style and the Latin flare of the Puerto Rican Sharks.

The show was spectacular. From the fight scenes, to the dance numbers not a moment passed by where I wasn't either on the edge of my seat or singing along. Welland Centennial put on a sensational production of West Side Story proving the greatest love stories never grow old.

Logan Imans
Laura Secord Secondary
Submitted for publication to

From the moment the lights dimmed and the music started, the audience was instantly transported from the spacious auditorium in Welland to the edgy streets and alleys of New York in Welland Centennial Secondary School's interpretation of the Bernstein and Sondheim classic, West Side Story. Brought to life by a cast of 56 enthusiastic performers and an accomplished six-piece band, the audience felt the tension and hopes of rival gangs and young love.

West Side Story turns Shakespeare's tale of Romeo and Juliet into a musical drama set on the streets of New York City in the 1950s. Two young lovers are faced with the timeless and universal dilemma of disapproving families. The constant conflict between two gangs - the Jets (an American gang) and the Sharks (a Puerto Rican gang) - adds drama and tension, whereas the loving glances of Tony (Derrick Thibault) and Maria (Jessica Wilson) adds a tender balance. Well-known songs including "Tonight" and "Maria" moved the story along while large group numbers add diversity and kept the audience entertained.

A simple but versatile set including a metal bridge and two staircases kept the stage bare, though smaller moving set pieces came in smoothly to add locations. Whether the stage became Doc's store, Anita's bridal shop, or Maria's bedroom, transitions were brief and unnoticeable. Effectively suggesting the mood for each scene was the subtle lighting on a plain backdrop creating a New York City skyline or a pastel-toned sky. Coloured lights and single spotlights focused on important parts of larger numbers.

The many costumes were distinct but not distracting. There was a noticeable difference between the Jets in their worn street-clothes, and the Sharks in their fancy attire, and unified colours of red and blue distinguished the gangs in more abstract numbers like the "Dream Ballet". Special effects makeup designed by Kyla Della-Gatta created bruises and cuts on the gang members after their rumble under the highway, and use of a fog machine created effect.

Each song was technically challenging, but the vocalists achieved the musicality with accuracy. While some of the songs were not whistle or hum along tunes, all musical numbers contributed to the essence of the story. Wireless microphones were expertly managed to make important characters heard, though at times some singers overpowered others in duets or ensemble singing.

The challenge of large, mostly male dance numbers was overcome by the dedicated and energetic cast under the encouragement of director Iraina Neufeld. Every actor was eager to learn their part, and this positive attitude helped them to achieve the dance steps with ease and precision. Smoothly choreographed fight scenes were safely under control, while providing frightening and violent realism to the gang tensions.

Welland Centennial, with energy and enthusiasm, commitment and precision, provided a memorable experience of the passions and struggles of West Side Story.