West Side Story

Last Friday, September 12, we went to the Meralco Theater to watch Stages' Philippine production of West Side Story. And I must say that you better believe the hype... its actually pretty good. We had side balcony tickets which were 500+ bucks each. I think its the cheapest... so you can say that the tickets is a bit pricey. But let me repeat, its worth it!

West Side Story is a popular musical play written by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but instead of the Capulets and the Montagues, its the Puerto Rican immigrants (the Sharks) and the "whites" (the Jets). In the place of Romeo and Juliet are Tony and Maria respectively. And as we all know how Romeo and Juliet's story went, the West Side Story closely follows.

The stage play features Christian Bautista as the main hero, Tony. Karylle and Joana Ampil alternately plays the main heroine, Maria. Among the other great casts include Gian Magdangal (the first Pinoy Idol finalist, aka the guy who impregnated my dream girl, Sheree!!) as Riff, Jake Macapagal as Bernardo, and Rowena Vilar as Anita (she stole the show!!), among others.

I can only rave about how good the cast were. As the show began, the cast were filling up the stage little by little. I told myself, "Akala ko all-Filipino cast? Bakit halos puro foreigners?!". And I was surprised when I saw the program magazine after the show... they were all Filipinos!! Except for the man who played Lt. Schrank (James Paolelli) of course.

And that's saying a lot. All their movements, their appearance (makeup!), costumes, and diction... I thought they were really Americans (for the group who played the "whites"). And that goes for the Puerto Ricans too. The accents, salsa dancing... truly world class. I'm not exaggerating. I've already mentioned the actress who played Anita literally stole the show. ;)

And of course, there's Christian Bautista and Karylle. I've always liked Christian Bautista even before. Regardless of his pretty boy "poppy" image (which is bordering on gayness!? lol), I've always respected his vocal talent. And he doesn't disappoint here in West Side Story.

Then we have Karylle. Before, I always thought of her as "anak ni Zsa Zsa na medyo marunong kumanta" but I became a fan of her after the show! Ang taas pala ng range niya! Akala ko pang "mababaw" na pop lang siya, ang taas pala ng vocal range. I was actually rooting for world-class talent Joanna Ampil (a much renowned stage actress/singer than Karylle) but we weren't disappointed after watching Karylle as Maria. ;)

And back to my favorite, the actress who played Anita. I'm actually not sure if its Pam G or Rowena Vilar kasi nga medyo malayo yung seats namin... but I have a gut feeling that it was Rowena Vilar (just by judging her great biceps! ;p). Ang galing talaga! Her acting, singing, AND most specially her dance numbers! Ang galing mag salsa ng naka-takong! My favorite scene in the whole play was Anita performing 'America' with the Sharks girls. She actually had louder crowd applause more so than the lead stars. Haha! ;p

The cast actually adapted all the popular songs of the musical superbly. Among my favorites were Tonight, Maria, America, I Feel Pretty, Somewhere, and Cool. And with amazing choreography at that!

With all this is the superb production by Stages. Menchu Lauchengco is a great director as she played Maria during 1981 production of the show. The music is superb as it was orchestrated by Gerard Salonga's orchestra. The props was also fantastic and dynamic. Galing talaga!

So there you have it. The admission is worth paying for. The show have a superb production with a formidable cast. Besides the popular leads, the show featured talented "unknown" actors. And this is superb work by the production team for actually finding AND casting all these great talents!

After the show, I wanted to do a standing ovation but refused at the last minute... I don't want to be the dick head who stands up clapping and no one else follows after. Hahahaha!

Basta watch this! Buy your tickets naaaa!!! ;)

Tickets are now sold at Ticketworld (632) 891-9999 and www.ticketworld.com.ph. Call STAGES at (632) 818-1111 loc. 225 to direct your queries to fundraising groups, and block buyers. Ticket prices range from PhP 500 to 1,200.

**Here's some of the songs from the original... not from the Philippine adaptation.