By Kevin Coughlin
Every year, the Mayo Performing Arts Center raises the bar a little higher with its spring production. And year five is no exception: West Side Story will explode across the stage on June 2-4, 2017.
Auditions for performers between ages 14-23 are scheduled for Feb. 15, 16 and 22.
Singing, dancing and acting skills are essential for this production of one of the most beloved and successful musicals of all time, an update of Romeo & Juliet pitting the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang, against the “American” Jets in New York of the 1950s.
The book is by Arthur Laurents, with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and choreography by Jerome Robbins. West Side Story was a Broadway hit in 1957, and has won three Tony awards over the years.
The 1961 movie version, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno, won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture.
Previous MPAC productions included Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hairspray, Les Misérables and Mary Poppins.
Once again, Cathy Roy will direct for MPAC. Charles Santoro will handle the musical direction.
Here are full details about the tryouts.
