West Side Story Indianapolis Civic Theatre

West Side Story stays true to its 1950s roots

It has to be tough to pull off a performance of a musical as beloved as West Side Story, but the Indianapolis Civic Theatre stepped up to the challenge — and delivered an ovation-worthy performance.

Yes, the cast had the audience standing at the end, enthusiastically applauding.

Standout performances were delivered by Patrick Clements and Angela Nichols Manlove, who played the title characters of Tony and Maria. Both had incredibly strong voices, with Angela’s vocals nearing perfection.

Angela was especially endearing as Maria, convincingly portraying the innocence of a newcomer untouched by the racism prevalent in 1950s America. The chemistry between and Patrick also seemed authentic.

However, Nathalie Cruz delivered such a fiery rendition of Anita, she practically stole the show with her passionate performance.

Director Robert J. Sorbera stayed true to the feel of the production, which first appeared on Broadway in 1957 as a loose interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The Civic’s production won’t disappoint those who were first enchanted by the originals — either on Broadway or in the film featuring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno.

The choreography, based on that created by Jerome Robbins, stayed true to form as did the performances of familiar songs like “Maria,” “America,” “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” “One Hand, One Heart” and “Cool.”

Perhaps one downside to attending a theatrical performance of a classic like West Side Story is that you often hear audience members singing along – which can be a bit distracting to the overall experience. This performance was no exception. At times, you could hear numerous voices in the audience belting out the more familiar tunes like “I Feel Pretty.” I’m sure it must have been hard for them to resist the urge.

As with Romeo and Juliet and the original performance of West Side Story, this performance ultimately brought to clarity the ongoing issues of racism — and the belief that love should transcend it all.


West Side Story continues through March 29.
Shows begin 7 p.m. Thursday, 8p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $25 Thursday and $32 all other times.
Call (317) 923-4597 or log on www.civictheatre.org.


by Shari Scales Finnell