I've seen the 1950s Hollywood film of West Side Story, but have never seen it performed on stage so this was a great introduction to this New York gangs update of the traditional Romeo and Juliet tale.
All the big songs were there: "Maria", "Tonight", "America", "I Feel Pretty" but I was very seriously impressed with the cast as a whole, bearing in mind that the majority of them are aged 16 or under - with some even as young as 9 or 10.
The singing was first class and the dance routines really were amazing. I especially enjoyed the "America" routine with the Latin girls in their swishy colourful dresses but the Jets' song and dance numbers were also particularly well performed.
In all I found this an incredibly powerful and moving production and think that the people behind the Fame School have done a very good job indeed.
It's unfair to name names as everybody really put in a splendid effort with their performances but Chloe McConville was sensational as Maria - she has a powerful singing voice and incredible range for a 16 year old. Jason Nizinkiewicz really was made for the part of Tony (he even looked like the guy in the film....) while Daniel Marland's portrayal of Riff - the leader of the Jets - was very polished and mature.
Special mention must go to Amy Edwards, whose singing and dancing in the role of Anita were simply outstanding, while Tom Melling gave us a very convincing and menacing Bernardo - leader of the Puerto Rican Sharks gang. Particularly impressive was the singing in Spanish.
Well done to the backroom team for putting on such a polished and professional show - accompanied throughout by a wonderful live orchestra. It was great to see the whole cast at the end saluting the orchestra and the audience as well. As always thank you to the sound engineer and everyone behind the scenes at our iconic Grand Theatre.
West Side Story runs at the Blackpool Grand theatre until Saturday - do go and see it!
You can book online here: www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk
To find out more about the Fame School Of The Arts, check out their website here: www.thefameschool.co.uk
