‘West Side Story’ opening on special expanded stage
By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
In Hillsborough High School’s “West Side Story” production, the Jets are punks and the Sharks are thugs — placing the 52-year-old musical in a present-day setting.
”I think everyone thinks of ‘West Side Story’ as singing and dancing gang boys with tight pants,” B.J. Solomon, the show director, said jokingly. “It’s sort of an interesting journey that we’ve been on. Fifty-two years ago, gang violence (was) very different than it is now, and it’s more dangerous now. We want them to walk out of the show seeing what they’d see today.
”In musicals, that serious issues can be glossed over,” he added. “People die and there’s a tap dance. ‘West Side Story’ is the perfect musical because it has a message to give if you’re willing to see it, and you can be entertained.”
The anti-gang message was forefront for Mr. Solomon, who is from an outside production company, and the show’s producer, Hillsborough High School choir teacher Christine Micu. Setting the production in modern-day New York meant updating the show’s language, costumes and dancing, and teaching the real-life friends to act as if they were enemies.
”In the beginning, we were all friends,” Stephanie Christian, the sophomore playing Maria, said as one of the show’s assistant student directors helped curl her hair for a dress rehearsal. “In the play, we had to act it out like we were all against each other. He (Mr. Solomon) had us go through exercises to believe that we were actually fighting.”
”We were told we weren’t permitted to let the exercises bleed into school,” she added.
The show presented several challenges for Mr. Solomon, Ms. Micu, and Melissa Blevins, the choreographer. Since audience members often know the movie rather than the stage production, the changes from what’s considered standard aren’t always taken well, Mr. Solomon said. The licensing agreement for the show outlines the permitted changes also, and prevents stage productions from recreating the movie.
”When you do ‘West Side Story,’ you don’t want it to be a bad version of the movie,” Ms. Micu said. “… It’s really a lot of heavy material for the kids.”
”My fear was that people get unhappy when they think it’s different from what they remember,” Mr. Solomon said. “We decided that the good outweighed the bad.”
The staff opted to cast adults for the show’s authority figures, drawing parent Tom McKenna, teachers Rich Bencivenga and Daynon Blevins, and Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer into the show. Ms. Blevins’ dog and son have cameos in the show too, making the production branch into each level school in the district.
In addition, the staff meshed Jerome Robbins’ choreography with modern break dancing moves to add to the updated atmosphere. Several members of the high school’s break dancing club taught the cast steps, and helped integrate the modern with the traditional, Ms. Blevins said.
”It was going to be a challenge to somehow modernize the feel and the vibe of this kind of music,” Ms. Blevins said. “The whole idea was to modernize the choreography, even if it’s just subtly, while maintaining Jerome Robbins’ original steps.”
Modernizing the show was no problem for the students, Mr. Solomon said. Many liked the chance to play iconic characters, while understanding the modern-day gang mentality.
”It’s amazing, and it’s such a once-in-a-life-time experience,” Nick Fakelman, the senior playing Sharks leader Bernardo, said. “People like to think it’s a positive musical; when they have ‘Officer Krupke,’ that it’s a fun musical. These people (the characters) gave up their lives for their gangs.”
”It’s still real and it’s still unpleasant,” Julianna LoBiondo, the show’s assistant student director said. “It was our purpose to bring the awareness out. It’s more than just putting on a happy musical for us.”
”I think sometimes people don’t acknowledge it (gang activity), but I think there are probably people in our schools who have encountered it,” she added.
Mr. Solomon brings considerable experience in staging musical productions to Hillsborough — he was in the national touring companies of “Cats,” “Dreamgirls,” and “Miss Saigon,” and directed productions of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Seussical” and “Aida.”
Before coming to Hillsborough, Mr. Solomon was the assistant director to Broadway director Lonny Price’s “Live at Kennedy Center” productions.
Performances will be given at 7 p.m. March 6, 7, 13 and 14, with a 2 p.m. matinee scheduled for March 8. All performances will take place in the auditorium at Hillsborough High School. Tickets are $10 for reserved seating. To reserve tickets, call 908-874-0147.

