WASHINGTON — Strolling down the red carpet at last week’s Kennedy Center Honors, “West Side Story” alum Rita Moreno kept the rivalry embers burning between the Sharks and the Jets.
“I think she’d tell the Jets to get lost, frankly. I don’t know that she’s going to be that kind. She’d say to the Jets, ‘Get lost. Get out of here. Get off of my turf,'” Moreno tells WTOP.
Now, a new generation snaps its way to Signature Theatre in Shirlington, now through Jan. 31.
WTOP caught up with Austin Colby and MaryJoanna Grisso, who respectively play the lead roles of Tony and Maria, the tragic star-crossed lovers who try to make peace between the Sharks and Jets, the same way that Romeo and Juliet tried to heal Shakespeare’s Montagues and Capulets.
“You’ll never get closer to the action. It is an action-filled show, both in drama, in dance, in physical combat, there is just everything. We’ll have you on the edge of your seat for sure,” Colby says.
“‘West Side Story’ is such a culmination. It’s genius. You have perfect music, you have perfect dancing, you have perfect dialogue, and a perfect message,” Grisso adds.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock and somehow missed the 1957 Broadway musical or the 1961 Best Picture movie, you know this story of two rival gangs in 1950s New York City. Written by the dream team of Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) and Arthur Laurents (book), the musical is the biggest production Signature Theatre has ever attempted, with a 30-person cast including Natascia Diaz as Anita, Sean Ewing as Bernardo and Max Clayton as Riff.
It’s all led by Colby, who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, before studying music education at James Madison University, joining the national tour of “The Sound of Music” and moving to New York City. He has fond memories of first encountering “West Side Story.”
“When I was in elementary school, my brother his freshman year played Tony in his school production of ‘West Side Story’ down in Richmond at Henrico High School, and I can remember crying at intermission because I knew how the story ended for the role he was playing,” Colby recalls.
Grisso also has vivid memories of the musical, growing up in Morgantown, West Virginia, before studying classical music and theatre at West Virginia University and moving to New York City.
“I had to study ‘West Side Story’ in one of my early music education classes, and I just remember being enamored with Maria, because you kind of connect to who you could play or who you could connect with the most and relate to the most at a young age,” Grisso recalls.
Her dream came true when she closed the U.S. national tour of “West Side Story” at National Theatre, where the original show made its pre-Broadway debut back in 1957.
“Now I’m back! … This is my first production at Signature, so the first time I walked into this space, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be so intimate,’ because the audience is literally on three sides of us. It’s a thrust configuration, so everyone is right in your face,” Grisso says.
“Usually the show is done in a proscenium where the audience is that fourth wall, but now we have those extra walls, so it’s going to be really neat. The way the stage is set up, no audience member will be more than 20 feet away from the action. We’re basically in the audience’s lap,” Colby says.
The choreography includes Jerome Robbins’ signature snapping, but with slight modifications.
“Our director, Matthew Gardiner, believes that no one can do better than Jerome Robbins … but Parker Esse, our choreographer, has the great challenge of setting it up so that you do the same choreography, but in this configuration, you’re able to change the focus and the angle,” Colby says.
Above the audience, scaffolding showcases the show’s 17-piece orchestra, playing the instrumental gold of the Latin, jazz and classical-inspired score, from the “Prologue” to “Dance at the Gym.” When the performers’ mouths open, they’ll belt the greatest show tunes of any musical, period. It’s impossible to top the unbridled romance of “Maria,” the dreamy optimism of “Somewhere,” the smooth machismo of “Cool,” the peppy joy of “I Feel Pretty” or the social commentary of “America.”
Still, Grisso’s favorite number is Maria and Tony’s balcony duet of “Tonight,” calling it “one of the most magical things an actor can experience.” Similarly, Colby digs the “Tonight (Reprise),” as multiple cast member sing a showstopping quintet of overlapping voices just before the rumble.
“I think it’s pretty iconic what Bernstein and Sondheim put together by having everyone’s story overlap, and to hear similar themes, both lyrically and melodically, but having slightly different meanings for each character group, the Jets and the Sharks. It’s pretty brilliant work,” Colby says.
His other favorite number is the duet ballad “Somewhere,” with voices belting to the rafters.
“I just think that song is not only beautiful melodically, but just has such an amazing message that makes this such a timeless piece. It’s talking about finding a place where peace and acceptance and forgiveness are the norm, and unfortunately, we’re still dealing with that today,” Colby says.
Indeed, “West Side Story” dared to show how love can cut through mankind’s territorial instincts and the bubbling racial tensions of Italians and Puerto Ricans in 20th century America.
“‘West Side Story’ is so relevant. I’m grateful as a performer to do it, but it makes me sad as a human being that this is something that we still deal with, and very much so right now with all of the racism and cultural divides and religious divides. I just feel like ‘West Side Story’ is a cry out, it’s this idea of love surviving in this world of bigotry and hatred and violence. It’s like this little green leaf that’s growing in chaos and turmoil, and you don’t think that it’s possible, but it is.”
Click here for ticket information to Signature Theatre. Listen to the full interview below:
