West Side Story
Atlanta Lyric Theatre
through June 26, 2016

I don’t care if you’ve seen this one a few times before. It’s a LOT more fun than politicians and pundits spitting out their story lines. And, if you watched the Tony’s then you have an idea of how blah most of this year’s shows are, and maybe that was a help to Hamilton.

While I doubt Hamilton has legs ala Cats or Phantom, the West Side Story remains as compelling as a Romeo and Juliet can be. When a local Theatre company brings together a cast of thirty players with great choreography and fight scenes by Cindy Mora Reiser, and a spot-on orchestra in the pit under the baton of Eric Alexander, how much better could it get?

Alan Kilpatrick directed this superb cast which includes Katie Murray as Maria, Tim Quartier as her Tony, and Chase Peacock as Bernado. I don’t gotta tell you the story; you know it’s all about the ’hood and mating rights. The Jets run up against the Sharks who are Puerto Ricans. They face off in a rumble, the cops get annoyed, Doc tries to smooth things over, but just like what happened with the Montagues and the Capulets, things do not always come out as “right” as one might hope for.

Everything about this is professional. The sets, costumes, props and cast. And the ticket prices are a heck of a lot better than dealing with Broadway scalpers. So, plan you night (or a Sunday afternoon) at this easy to reach venue in Marietta, with free parking and every seat has an unobstructed view. Just visit them at AtlantaLyric.com and tell them that Officer Krupke told you so.