From dancing to singing that vibrates throughout the theater, the characters take their place and the musical starts.
As the end to another calendar year comes yet again the Akins theater department worked hard in preparation for the musical West Side Story.
West Side Story is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, which is about forbidden love and the depths the lovers will go to stay together.
“Rehearsals have been a roller coaster ride,” musical director Maureen Siegel said. “The crew has been working incredibly hard.”
This year the crew had a lot to do in preparation for the musical. There were dance scenes and high musical notes to tackle.
“Rehearsals were stressful but a lot of fun,” senior Gabriela De La Rosa said. “It’s finally starting to look good and come together.”
Maria and Tony, the protagonists, fall in love at a school dance where they meet for the first time. The magic happened once their eyes locked and eventually, so did their lips.
The love stricken couple secretly goes against everything they were ever taught to be together. Racial tension brings huge drama and a disaster of an end.
“She falls madly in love with Tony and nothing can stop their love,” De La Rosa said.
Maria’s older brother, Bernardo, is the Puerto Rican leader of the Sharks and Maria’s white lover, Tony, is one of the leaders of the Jets, two rival gangs that will stop at nothing to end the other.
Throughout the play the two gangs bump heads and decide to rumble it out. As decided the fight starts out clean but soon enough Tony’s brother, Riff, and Bernardo are killed.
“He doubts everything he grew up with just to be with Maria, a girl of the opposition,” senior Jackson King said.
Maria and Tony are left with nothing but to run away, they separate and plan to meet each other but Maria runs into issues and leaves her sister, Anita, to go tell the news. Anita eventually lies to protect her sister but causes more problems then she knows.
Maria is left without a brother and a lover.
The terrible, inevitable death of Tony leaves the story at a sad goodbye.
“I’m glad everyone kept their energy high,” King said. “I felt that the show went very well.”
