Hudson Backstage Impresses with 'West Side Story'

REVIEW CONTRIBUTED BY:  CAROLINE COBRIN

The Hudson Backstage Theatre on Theatre Row in Hollywood is currently running West Side Story, the classic Romeo and Juliet tale set in New York City.  With a talented cast and a small, sparse stage, the company did an impressive job telling such a large story on such a small scale.

The strength of the show was in the dynamic portrayal of the female characters, especially the two leads of Maria, played by Laura Darrell, and Anita, played by Janet Krupin.  Darrell’s cheeriness and believable naïveté were apparent from her first spoken line, and her vocal ability only added to her pleasant portrayal of Maria.  Krupin had a sassy fire to her personality that was not only believable but captivating.  She embraced every aspect of the spitfire Anita, and absolutely delighted the crowd whenever she was on stage.  Combining her comfort in singing, acting, dancing and just having fun, Krupin efficiently stole every scene that she was in.
 
The male leads made up in effort what they might have lacked in vocal abilities.  Clint Carter, who played the lead role of Tony, struggled through many of his high-noted solos.  In many cases he was opened-mouthed with no sound coming out, and in other moments his singing sounded strained, these moments left one wondering why the musical director didn’t transpose Carter’s solo songs to play to his vocal strength, which was clearly in his lower register.  Jesse Jensen who played Riff, and Benjamin Marquis, who played Bernardo, both gave very convincing performances that were enjoyable to watch.  The obvious camaraderie of the Jets men made up for their lack of killer vocal skills. 

The cast was fully committed to each and every scene, no matter if they played a supporting or starring role.  With such a large cast on such a small stage, Director Kenneth Gray-Scolari and Choreographer Arthur L. Ross should be commended for their marvelous staging.  The ability to have all thirty one cast members on stage at the same time without creating a collision of limbs, especially in the numerous dance numbers, was beyond impressive.   

One of the shining moments of the show was the solo by Lindsay Day, singing the famous “Somewhere” during the second act dance sequence.  Her voice filled the stage with its simple authenticity and beauty.  A second was the famous number “America.” Krupin, Tania Possick as Rosalia, and the rest of the Sharks’ girls infused the stage with their talent and comedic abilities.     

The Hudson Theatre is located at 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.  West Side Story will run until December 21st with shows on Fridays, Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at both 2 and 7 p.m.  For reservations please call 323-960-7712 or www.plays411.net/westsidestory.

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