West Side Story beautifully retold at Excel theatre inTipperary Town

The great strength and beauty of West Side Story comes from its source, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
This classic love story has been told in so many varied ways, but none more effectively than through the medium of Musical Theatre, and the combined genius of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. What they created was, in its day, a modern masterpiece, with one of the most entrancing musical scores ever written... and so it remains, ever popular, and ever relevant.
Director Michael O’Donoghue assisted by Mary Condon O'Connor gave us a production with plenty of novel twists that gave the show a fresh treatment. Joanne Ryan's (set)Caoimne Carey's (projections) Stage Manager Jo Smith and her stage crew , Catherine Sharpe(props) Trish O'Brien,( lighting) Pat Marnane and Aimee Fogarty.(sound)
KirstyKeating (choreography)
Musical Director Peter Taylor all made a massive contribution to a wonderful event.
Aaron Holland as Tony, displayed a fine, tenor voice, well able to hit the high notes. Phillipa Harold Barry as Maria, grew in every department as the show progressed.
Tadhg O'Connor exuded confidence as Riff. He was extremely enthusiastic in his dancing and had confidence in his acting too.
Shane Donovan gave a quiet confidence to the role of Bernardo, and was a plausible leader of his gang.
Nicole Butler was a very convincing Anita, with a perfect look and a good sense of comedy.
Adam Skeffington as Action, gave one of the most confident performances of the night, involving himself constantly and believably in the action, even when not the focus of attention.
Likewise, Eimear Hughes as Anybodys, maintained her character strongly throughout the show, enjoying the tough Tom-boy attitude, and enhancing her performance with a good accent and excellent dancing.
Sadhbh Donovan as Velma, and the current Pride of Tipperary, Muireann Slattery as Graziella made their presence felt in the opportunities they had, being particularly noteworthy in the dance numbers.
Likewise, Nicole Kennedy as Consuela and Choreographer Kirsty Keating as Rosalia made a good impact with their dialogue and vocally in “America” and “I Feel Pretty”, where they were ably supported by Shauna Frewen as Francisca.
Cormac Maher (A-rab), Andrew Richardson (Big Deal), Zach O'Halloran (Diesel) and Ben Esmonde as Baby John, gave great support as the Jets, and their dancing was buzzing with raw energy and effort.
Luke Condon as Chino, made a good job of reporting the “Rumble” to Maria, and he played the shooting scene very well. He had good back-up from Steven Donohoe as Pepe, Sam Ryan as Indio, Jack O'Connor as Juano and Robert Bradshaw as Jose.
David Hughes played put-upon store owner Doc, and his delicate scene with Tony was nicely handled. Similarly, an eccentric and quirky performance was given by Darragh McGrath as Glad Hand.
Eoghan Ryan had a good stage presence as Lt. Schrank, while Tom Hogan as Officer Krupke was suitably angry and abrupt.
Ella Flynn had a lovely voice as the “Somewhere” soloist, but will no doubt be a young performer to keep an eye on in the future.
The chorus for this production gave one hundred per cent commitment to maintaining a high energy performance, with great physical presence and enthusiastic vocals.
. Great work also on sardrobe here from Brigid Whelan, Marie Fogarty, Kate Fogarty and the team.
The Excel Theatre was suitable decked out with plently of photographs of the cast adorning the walls of the entrance to the auditorium, courtesy of Elaine Fitzpatrick and the show programme by award-winning programme editior Ruth Butler was informative and a great souvenir of the show for both the audience and cast.
The Excel Youth Theatre's wonderful production of Children of Eden last year was certainly a difficult act to follow, but this young enthusiastic group certainly rose to the challenge with this production of West Side Story which most certainly showcased the young talent that lies in Tipperary Town and the surrounding area. The sheer aplomb with which this production was carried off is testament to the hard work put in by the cast, the wonderful production team and the bevy of background helpers who make up the Excel Youth Theatre Group. Congratulations to all involved.

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