[NEohioPAL]Last Weekend for LCMT's West Side Story

[kabbw at aol.com]

Lorain Community Music Theater presents 'West Side Story' at the Lorain Palace Civic Center on July 9, 10, 16 & 17 at 7:30 pm AND July 18 at 2:00pm. 
  Tickets are available by calling the Palace Box Office at (440) 245-2323 or at (800) 889-4842.  Adult tickets are $13 and Student and Senior tickets are $11.

'West Side Story' originally opened on Broadway in 1957, and was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.  The music was written by Leonard Bernstein, script by Arthur Laurents, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

'West Side Story', a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', transplants the young lovers to the violent streets of New York where they 
are doomed by social conditions they cannot control.  The powerful, swiftly moving plot is driven by turbulence and tension.  The musical covers a period of only two days; scenes blend into one another as the inevitable progression of events unfolds.  The two feuding gangs are the Jets (white 
Americans) and the Sharks (dark-skinned Puerto Ricans).  Each of the gangs are fiercely loyal, determined to stake claim to their turf on the streets of New York.  The adults (police, social workers, parents) don't understand the intensity of the feud that is brewing between these two gangs.  The 
teens are equally capable of loving...and hating...leading to the tragic ending of this musical.

Cast information:
Maria...Sarah Wozniak...Lorain, student at Baldwin-Wallace
Tony...Michael Goff...Vermilion, student at Heidelberg
Anita...Cory Farinacci...Cleveland, student at Baldwin-Wallace
Bernardo...Alex Arroyo...Lorain, student at Southview High School
Riff...Joe Kenderes...Berea
Anybodys...Liesel Stevens, Lorain, student at Baldwin-Wallace

The remainder of the cast is a good cross-section from Northeast Ohio, including Lorain, Vermilion, Huron, Grafton, Elyria, Avon Lake, Bay Village, North Olmsted and Sheffield Lake.

Production staff information:
Mike Larochelle...Director and Designer
Brenda Larochelle...Choreographer
Bev Muzilla...Producer
Bobbi Emery...Orchestra Director
Ted Williams...Vocal Director
Carol Tillotson...Accompanist

Mike and Brenda Larochelle, the husband-and-wife team from North Olmsted, first worked with Lorain Community Music Theater in 1995 with the production of 'Guys and Dolls'.  Subsequent shows have included 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'Will Rogers Follies', 'South Pacific' and  'Bye Bye Birdie'.

Bev Muzilla and Ted Williams are current LCMT Board Members, and both have worked with the Larochelles on every show that they have directed/choreographed for LCMT.  Bobbi Emery leads the LCMT orchestra for the 19th year, always putting together an excellent group of musicians 
 
   
            -- 
Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand!!