June 12 – June 21, Garland Summer Musicals will present the award-winning Broadway and film classic West Side Story, inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Leonard Bernstein’s amazing score is combined with the book by Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story is set in the upper West Side neighborhood of New York in the mid 1950’s. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The story is based on two young people who meet and fall in love, but are separated because they come from two rival groups. Bernstein’s score includes: “Maria,” “Tonight,” “America,” “Somewhere,” “Cool,” “One Hand, One Heart” and more.
Cast includes: Max Swarner as Tony; Maranda Harrison as Maria; Monique Abry as Anita and Clinton Greenspan as Bernardo. Others featured in the cast include: Kyle Igneczi as Riff; Aaron Green as Chino; Stephen Raikes as Action; Jill Nicholas as Anybodys; Gordon Fox as Doc; Marty Scott as Schrank; Ian Mead Moore as Officer Krupke; and Kally Duncan as Gladhand. Jets are: Tatem Lee, Kyle Fleig, Nicholas Winterrowd. Brad Weatherford and Sammy Swim. Sharks are: Timothy Turner-Parrish, Evan Ramos, Mark Quach, Isaiah Harris and Dominic Pecikonis. Jet Girls are: Katie Nicholas, Alex Altshuler, Janelle Hollister, Allyson Guba, Brittany Stahl, Colleen LeBleu and Kimberley Yoxall. Shark Girls are: Whitnee Bomkamp, Kelley Barker, Kia Nicole Boyer, Stephanie Butler, Jamie Ecklund and Brittane Bailey.
West Side Story will be directed by Buff Shurr, and the Producer is Patty Granville. GSM staff for West Side Story also includes: Scott Eckert as music director/conductor; Jeremy Dumont as choreographer; Rachel Dupree as stage manager. Set design is by Rodney Dobbs; lighting design by Susan A. White; props by Lynn Mauldin, costumes by Michael Robinson and Susie Cranford with the Dallas Costume Shoppe. Master carpenter is Joe Murdock and sound design is by Tyler Payne. Technical director is Tim Doyle.
All performances are held in the Brownlee Auditorium of the Granville Arts Center, 300 North Fifth Street in downtown Garland. Tickets are available at the arts center box office or by calling 972-205-2790. (MasterCard, Visa and Discover accepted) Online ticketing: www.garlandartsboxoffice.com.
Special college credit is provided through a partnership with Eastfield College and the Dallas County Community College District for everyone cast in the shows and technical crew. The Garland Summer Musicals are funded in part through special grants from the Garland Cultural Arts Commission, Inc., GSM Guild, Garland Power & Light, Garland Water Utilities; Micropac and Ecolab.