10/8/23, 11:23 AM Canberra Critics Circle: West Side Story

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Canberra Critics Circle

Saturday, October 7, 2023 About CCC
Canberra Critics Circle
West Side Story The 31 year-old Canberra
Critics’ Circle is the only such
group of critics in Australia
that runs across all the major
art forms, not just performing arts. The circle
changes each year depending on who is
writing or broadcasting on the arts in Canberra.
Our aim is to provide a focal point for Canberra
reviewers in print and electronic media through
discussions and forums. As well, we make
awards to ACT region artists (normally within a
100km radius of Canberra) in the latter part of
each year. The CCC has always resisted
making awards in “best-of” categories. Arts
practice is not a competitive race and Canberra
is a small pool where it would be ridiculous to
pre-impose categories, apart from major art
form genres. The idea is that we, the critics,
single out qualities we have noticed -- things
which have struck us as important. These
could be expressed as abstracts, like impact,
originality, creativity, craftsmanship and
excellence. The views expressed are solely
those of the individuals providing them and do
not reflect the opinions of the Canberra Critics
West Side Story – based on a conception of Jerome Robbins. Dramatic Productions at Gunghalin College
Circle itself. Our year is from September 30
Theatre October 6 – 21, 2023.
2022 to September 30 2023. Convener of the
Circle is Helen Musa.
Reviewed by Frank McKone
View my complete profile
October 6

“Dramatic Productions is dedicated to delivering the highest quality locally produced community Blog Archive Related
theatre in an environment of respect, integrity and positivity.”
▼ 2023 (332)
Blogs
https://www.dramaticproductions.com.au/about
▼ October (5) Useless Lines
It was a surprise, then, for a professional critic to have attached to his complimentary ticket a page full of West Side
Story
instructions, mainly about the wording we must use when referring to individual cast members (for example,
their correct pronouns; the correct spelling of their names; and referring to them in the same way as they are VISION
described in their biographies published in the program). STRING
QUARTET -
Musica Viva
It concludes rather mysteriously, “The show addresses racial tension. To avoid this being present in media Australia
discussion surrounding the show, we ask that reviewers and media writers aim to cover both sides of the story
Rosieville
and cast to avoid cultural bias.”
ROSIEVILLE -
Canberra
Apart from the condescending nature of these instructions, seeming to assume that I might denigrate an actor Youth
or criticise the casting on the basis of their ethnicity, I am at a loss to understand what “to cover both sides of Theatre
the story and cast to avoid cultural bias” means.
Pacific Mother
- film
My role is first to consider the play being performed, in this case starting from the intentions of its creators, the documentar
choreographer Jerome Robbins, the writer Arthur Laurents, the lyricist Stephen Sondheim and the composer y

Leonard Bernstein, in the context of 1950s New York City.

► September
(32)
This will raise the question of whether this production is intended to be a successful piece of ‘museum’ theatre
► August (44)
– which could be perfectly valid in its own right as the BB Group (Mannheim, Germany) production presented
by Opera Australia proved to be (reviewed here October 13, 2019) – or whether this director and creative ► July (45)
team have sought to take into account social change over the last 73 years and perhaps are attempting to ► June (46)
make the West Side Story of social conflict more relevant to 2023.
► May (35)

What is meant by “both sides”, and what is “the story”? Apparently the Dramatic Productions founder and ► April (23)
managing director, Richard Block, writing in his Letter From The Producer, is afraid, because of “seeing
► March (46)
various companies around the country cancel their productions, due to a back-lash from the community
regarding casting”, since he has chosen to go to and to effusively thank “all the community and performance ► February (35)

groups and Embassies who helped us when we were seeking our [diverse multicultural] cast.” ► January (21)

Does he mean by issuing these instructions that he cannot trust us critics to have “respect, integrity and ► 2022 (399)
positivity”? Yet these, with honesty, truth-telling, and encouragement of the appreciation of the arts, are ► 2021 (262)
central to a critic’s aims. Of course, in modern times, cross-cultural and cross-gender casting is an important
► 2020 (205)
part of making new theatre.
► 2019 (397)

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10/8/23, 11:23 AM Canberra Critics Circle: West Side Story
West Side Story itself is a re-working of Shakespeare’s 1595 Romeo and Juliet story of wealthy families in ► 2018 (397)
old Verona, which I guess for him was about the nobility of England being told how to behave by a sensible
► 2017 (387)
Queen Elizabeth – a female King!
► 2016 (345)
I was a young teenager, in London, not New York, as Jerome Robbins was turning gang warfare into modern
► 2015 (314)
jazz dance. I was well aware, aged 12, of the Teddy Boys. My father made it clear which areas I should not
go near on my way to visit the British Museum in central London. And of why he wanted, very much against ► 2014 (188)

my wishes, for me to take up boxing. ► 2013 (175)

► 2012 (137)
Then, at 14, arriving in Australia in 1955, I fortunately was unable to swim, since the beaches were dangerous
places taken over by Bodgies and Widgies. ► 2011 (74)

► 2010 (61)
So, though I could never have gone to Broadway to see the original stage version, with my personal history as
► 2009 (23)
a five-year-old Elf in the Elves and the Shoemaker, at 12 playing the young Henry V, and at 16 being
fascinated by studying Eugene O’Neill and Bernard Shaw, everything naturally fell into place for me in 1961 as
I attended some modern dance classes with NIDA’s Margaret Barr and West Side Story, directed by Jerome
Followers
Robbins himself, appeared on the big screen.
Followers (51) Next

Doing drama, teaching drama and reviewing drama was the only possible result for my next 60 years. So now
let’s look at the work of the most important person in this production of West Side Story – Director and
Choreographer, Antonia Genoveva.

The program emphasises that this is a community theatre production (Dramatic Productions having evolved
from Richard Block’s association with the one-time amateur Phoenix Players in Canberra), and this is
Antonia’s first full-scale directing role after a history of performing in Sydney and London suburban theatre, Follow
children’s theatre and singing with The Baker Boys Band at weddings and corporate gigs, as well as having
the ironically named (considering this review by the Canberra Critics’ Circle) of an original work “La Musa” at
the Edinburgh Fringe.

I suspect, from the claim that West Side Story is a favourite, that Antonia may have been influenced by the
2021 West Side Story – the movie by Stephen Spielberg (reviewed here December 27, 2021). My key
observation on that movie is that it is not a romance, but an insightful tragedy.

Though it’s obvious that Antonia has picked up on much of Jerome Robbins’ original choreography, especially
in the group sets, where Robbins’ work ended up leaving our focus on the originality and romance of the
dance – which has influenced almost all popular dance on film and television ever since – Antonia, like
Spielberg, makes us focus on the characters of the women and on their lives dominated by violent men.

The tragedy which Antonia has made the strength of her directing is played out in the scenes showing the
physical and emotional violence with which the Jets treat their women, and the manipulative control by the
Sharks’ men over the women in their families. Andrea Garcia as Anita established how frustrating and fearful
she was in contrast to the real sense of of character and independence she knew was her true self.

The final scene was the final tragic blow, and was done with simple but devastating effect. Maria had found
the only man she could genuinely love – the only man, Anton, who genuinely sought to bring peace to their
lives – only to realise that even he had had no choice but to stop her violent brother with equal violence.
Tony's being killed in revenge was then inevitable.

But in that final scene, Maria is unable to do as Juliet does in Shakespeare’s play. There is no poison on
Tony’s lips that she might taste and die with him. In modern times she cannot escape by shooting herself.
She, like women the world over, must live on despite such unnecessary loss, and leave the stage with
nowhere to go.

The song she and Tony have sung – There is Somewhere … There Must be Somewhere, for us – has turned
into an unrealisable hope. Valeria Arciniega Vidurrizaga captured that awful feeling, the depth of Maria’s
loneliness, under Antonia’s direction, and brought the audience to silence.

I would have liked that silence to have been held another minute or two longer, before bringing the cast on to
the whoops and whistles of enthusiastic applause which audiences nowadays want to burst out with at the
earliest instant. This was First Night, and maybe later nights’ audiences will give themselves more time to
absorb the meaning of the play.

On the other hand, the action on stage including often very complicated choreography of realistic scenes and
of pure dance, was very well done and certainly deserved that applause. The characterisations of even minor
parts, and certainly of the well-known central roles of Doc (Dick Goldberg), Tony (William Allington), Anita
and Maria, were as clear in their spoken and action aspects as in their singing.

The orchestra perhaps may not have matched “the original 1957 Broadway score, orchestrated by Sid Ramin
and Irwin Kostal, played by 27 musicians; [or] the 1961 version, conducted by Johnny Green with a 72-piece
Hollywood orchestra, which Bernstein reportedly disliked” https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-
d&=the+original+orchestra+for+West+Side+Story+on+stage+and+1961+film
but Leonard Weiss and his 26-piece outfit kept the show moving as it should.

In conclusion, then, this presentation of West Side Story succeeds on its own terms, bringing together a large
cast representing a wide range of background cultures, as a way of counteracting the very prejudices which
concerned the original authors in the 1950s – and are still of great concern, especially in social media bubbles
and in the politicisation of the progress towards a referendum vote on a Voice to Parliament for our First

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10/8/23, 11:23 AM Canberra Critics Circle: West Side Story
Nations people on October 14 – just a week away.

Perhaps that’s the “both sides of the story and cast” and the matter “to avoid cultural bias” that Producer
Richard Block should be really afraid of; while the strength of concern for women’s human rights in our world
of men’s violence, shown by Director Antonia Genoveva’s work, is equally important.

The CAST

William “Wally” Allington Tony Valeria Arciniega Vidurrizaga Maria

Jake Fraser Riff Eudes Balandrott Bernado
Andrea Garcia Anita Dick Goldberg Doc
John Whinfield Krupke Zach Raffan Shrank
Freddie Loyman Chino Patrick Marris Glad Hand
Abigail Dunn Anybodys Felipe Ampuero Shark
Emily Appleton Jet Caitlin Bissett Jet
Emily Byass Shark (Maria Understudy)
Diana Caban-Velez Shark Jeremy Chan Jet
Ana Diaz Shark Paris Ellis Jet
Ben Fullerton Jet Georgie Galvin Jet (Anybody's Cover)
Carlos Gongora Shark Charlotte Jackson Jet
Jordan Kelly Jet (Riff Understudy) Bianca Lawson Jet
Sebastian Leigh Jet Ashleigh Nguyen Jet
James O'Hehir Jet Max Lajud Rivera Shark
James Robertson Jet Kara Sellers Shark (Anita Cover)
Jodie Sims Jet Tate Sissian Jet
Yamile Tafur Shark Carlos Tafur Shark

Pit singers

Luke Ferdinands (Tony Understudy) Thomas Heather

Grace Jasinski Darcy Kinsella
Ella Kuschel Alex Patterson
Selene Thompson Pema Yogini-Yuphel

The TEAM

Lara Clement Hayden Crosweller

Kristy Griffin Adam Salter
Yamile Tafur Teresa Wojcik
Luke Ferdinands (Tony Understudy) Thomas Heather
Grace Jasinski Darcy Kinsella
Ella Kuschel Alex Patterson
Selene Thompson Pema Yogini-Yuphel

West Side Story

Dramatic Productions, 2023

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