Children's Playhouse of Maryland's Young Adult Series to Stage WEST SIDE STORY

Children's Playhouse of Maryland, in residence at CCBC Essex, presents the classic musical West Side Story in its Young Adult Series. Based upon Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this production features 34 student-actors from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County and Harford County.

Emilio Bayarena of Mount Airy, Md. appears as Tony, with Ilyssa Rubin of Reisterstown, Md. as Maria. Also featured are Josh Robinson of Joppa, Md. as Riff, Rachel Miller of Baltimore, Md. as Anita, and Kevin Franiak of Nottingham, Md. as Bernardo.

Liz Boyer Hunnicutt directs this production, with musical direction by Charlotte Evans and choreography by Amanda Dickson.

Opening on Broadway in 1957, the story of star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria is set in the Upper West Side in New York City. Tony, a former member of the Jets gang, falls in love with Maria, sister of the leader of the rival gang, the Sharks. They struggle to follow their dreams amid gang warfare, but are torn apart by tragedy. With amazing choreography and such memorable tunes as Tonight, I Feel Pretty and Maria, this iconic American musical is still very relevant today.

West Side Story will be performed Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m. and May 6, 13, 14, 20 and 21 at 1 p.m. There is an additional 7 p.m. show on Saturday, May 13. The Sunday, May 14 show will be sign language interpreted by students of the CCBC Catonsville American Sign Language Certification program. Please note: There is no show Sunday, May 7.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance by calling the CCBC Box Office, 443-840-ARTS, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday - Friday, or online at www.cpmarts.org. Tickets will also be available at the door, space permitting. Advance purchase is highly recommended. Group tickets are also available.

Performances are held in the CCBC Essex Administration Building Lecture Hall, near parking lot 4. The facility is wheelchair accessible. Please request accommodations at the time of ticket purchase.

For more information, call the CCBC Box Office, or the CPM Administrative Office at 443-840-2426. For directions, go to www.ccbcmd.edu.

Children's Playhouse of Maryland Inc. is a not-for-profit community theatre dedicated to youth performers ages 18 and under.

Since 1957, CCBC, which now educates nearly 63,000 students each year, has opened the doors to accessible, affordable, high-quality education inspiring brilliance among generations of area residents. Over the past 60 years, hundreds of thousands of students have made their starts, earned degrees, launched and advanced careers, transformed their lives, and the lives of others, through CCBC experiences. Visit www.ccbcmd.edu/brilliant for more about CCBC's 2017 diamond anniversary.

CCBC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.