Tough Love at heart of META's 'West Side Story'

No way am I going to bury the lead in this review of META’s new production of “West Side Story,” which opened at the Lincoln Theatre last week. Some critics love to play with their readers and try to slowly build up to a thumbs up or thumbs down but I’m going to cut to the chase.

The production is wonderful. I entered the Lincoln from snowy streets on a wintry day in Mount Vernon and was transported into another world. The story of “Romeo and Juliet” was transformed by some of Broadway’s all-time greats – book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and choreographed by Jerome Robbins – to the 1950s mean streets of New York City where two young lovers get caught in the crossfire of gang warfare between the Anglo Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.

Director Joe Bowen wisely decided years ago that “West Side Story” would be a perfect choice for a community that is basically half Anglo and half Latino. It took 16 years but finally “West Side Story” hit the boards and proved once again that Bowen is not only a smart Harvard educated lawyer, he’s also a terrific director.

The production took me on a journey that made me smile and laugh and even shed a few tears. What more could you ask from a musical? Of course, I knew what the ending would be but nonetheless I suspended my disbelief and was on the edge of my seat or standing up and clapping and hooting after many wonderful musical numbers.

Rob Neeleman is engaging and extremely likable as Tony (Romeo) and Carmen Souza brings an incredible operatic vocal range to the character of Maria (Juliet). Even more amazing, Souza lost her voice at a rehearsal earlier in the week and was told by a doctor that she wouldn’t be able to perform, but miracle of miracles, her voice returned in time for the opening day curtain and her pipes didn’t burst. Far from it, she has the kind of voice that you can feel as well as hear, making it even more amazing that she is still a Bellingham high school senior.

Bowen knows his cast and his community well and many songs were performed in both English and Spanish. Jeremiah Moreno as Bernardo and Tyanna Wittman as Anita sang convincingly in both languages. Alexandra Bowen, still in junior high school, blew me with away with her show-stopping rendition of the song “Somewhere.”

There was absolutely no attempt to simplify the play just because the cast is primarily high school and college kids. The entire cast added its youthful gusto to the song and dance numbers. Choreographer Angela Marinella added some zing to the already fabulous original Robbins’ creation: he conceived “West Side Story.” Donna Dupras, the musical director, brought new life to great old songs and also conducted a vibrant 11-piece orchestra.

The ensemble flawlessly handled the tricky tonal shifts from singing a gang story to a love story to a Shakespearean tragedy to the delightfully silly song, “Gee, Officer Krupke.”

“West Side Story” is running Thursdays-Sundays through Feb. 23. Tickets and times: https://lincolntheatre.org/performance/west-side-story

You will thoroughly enjoy the show, whether you grew up with it as I did or if you are watching it for the first time.

Mel Damski has been a film and TV director for four decad