West Side Story Review: An Immersive Production by Director Derek Critzer

Posted by John Elia on February 20th, 2019

The West Side Story in the directions of Derek Critzer has flourished into an impressive and captivating story. Especially, the diverse sense of place and time is the biggest achievement in this production, the third production in West End's Theater and a successive triumph. West Side Story Tickets are selling fast get yours at Tickets4musical.com.

This popular Jerome Robbins' musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim is in simple words the reimagined Romeo & Juliet inspired by William Shakespeare’s brilliant work of fiction, with a script and setting of its own in the western world.

The story takes place in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid-1950s, exploring the rivalry between Jets and the Sharks, two street gangs of teenagers with different historical backgrounds. The story revolves around Tony a former member of jets and friends with the leader of the Jets, Riff. He falls in love with Shark’s leader Bernardo’s Sister Maria and so the story begins. Enjoy this mesmerizing story in the theater live by buying Cheap West Side Story Tickets available at Tickets4musical.

The storyline and the inspirational background is all too familiar in the musical theatre world, this fact makes the West Side Story all the move appreciable for pulling off this tricky production. The best-known factor of the musical is its unique style of dance and songs that require voices that can hit high notes. Casting for West Side Story sure was a bunch of handfuls but amazingly Critzer and his crew handled the challenge fine. The dancing in the musical is good or even impressive when you watch Willow Draper’s fascinating fight sequence. The acting and singing, on the other hand, are not too bad either. In short, the show is totally worthwhile. Get Your West Side Story Tickets Cheap at Tickets4musical to go and watch it.

Cameron Hale and Tamir Navarro are brilliant as Tony and Maria and watching their diehard romance make you fall in love with the show.  You can see the best of their vocal talents in songs like "One Hand, One Heart" and "Tonight." Hale possess a charming voice accompanied by the forceful voice of Navarro, they are quite a pair.

Other mentionable talents include Andrea Diaz as Anita, she has an impressive voice to make the whole stage seem like her own territory. You just can’t rip your eyes off her when she is singing flouncing around in "America" and then immediately bringing earnestness to "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love." Her character get sexually assaulted in which came with a warning before the act by Critzer. Diaz handled the heart-wrenching moment with sobriety.

Want to watch these wonderful actors perform live? Then here is your chance, get the West Side Story Seattle Tickets now at Tickets4musical. Speaking of talents the show cast has, Shelly Whittle as Lieutenant Schrank is a must mention in the list, the plainclothes top cop who might upset sometimes with his racism but the performance by Whittle is believable and impressive.

The show has also nailed the top mark in the technical aspects with lighting by Ashley Laramore, prop design by Frank Siano, and Critzer's gripping inventive visualization. The most impressive of all is one moment during the reprise of "Tonight" by the end of Act I where the characters climb ladders that move around in a kind of ballet, as the music swells.

It is undeniable that the West Side Story is a rip-off but it’s the show's sense of place and of culture that makes it stand apart. The musical runs through February 24, 2019, at Theater West End, so before the Tickets sell out Get yours Discounted West Side Story Tickets at Tickets4musical.