[Antiracism] [Solidarity Calendar] West Side Story 4/23-27

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

A new version of West Side Story will be at the Academy of Music from April
23-27 performed by PACE Theater.  Go to HYPERLINK
"http://www.pacetheater.org/" \nwww.pacetheater.com  for the schedule &
ticket prices including the substantial discounted group rates (10 or more).


 

This new take on the 1957  Broadway musical  sends a 21st century message
dealing with our current public dialogue on race, immigration, and the
depiction of minorities. While staying true to West Side Story's timeless
tale of cultural conflict and forbidden love (based on Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet), PACE will present all new choreography by the internationally
acclaimed Maura Nguyen Donohue. Accompanied by a live orchestra, the
multicultural cast from all over the Pioneer Valley will draw on dance
traditions seldom seen on the theatrical stage, such as hip-hop, West
African dance, martial arts, and capoeira. 

 

GO TO THE WEBSITE AND CLICK ONTO MEDIA ROOM TO SEE THE YOUTUBE VIDEO SAMPLE
OF THE DANCING.   

 

If you have any questions, call Sonia Fried Oppenheim  at 413-527-3700.

Saturday afternoon, April 26 : 

A public dialogue on the issues raised by the PACE Theater production of
West Side Story.  A discussion with three Latino professors, the three
directors of the show, cast members and the public.  This discussion takes
place at Smith College in the Dewey Commons Room, Dewey Hall from 3-4:30pm.

Three special panelists will join the three directors of the show and some
of the cast members, together with the audience, in a wide-ranging
discussion of what this play--first performed in l957--means for us in 2008
and what makes it a classic.  Over the years this play has been a beloved
work by Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, and Steven Sondheim; it has also
raised much controversy (as have all the great classics, rooted in time).

Panelists:
Ginetta Candelario, Smith College,  Professor of Sociology and Latin
American and Latina/o Studies and a member of the Study of Women and Gender
Program Committee. She is author of  Black Behind the Ears: Blackness in
Dominican Identity  From Museums to Beauty Shops.
Alberto Sandoval-Sanchez, Professor of Spanish, Mt. Holyoke College, author
of the book: Jose, Can You See? Latinos On and Off Broadway.
Natalia Munoz, editor and publisher of the monthly bi-lingual newspaper,
LaPrensa (HYPERLINK "http://www.laprensama.com/" \nwww.laprensama.com), who
is sponsoring the production.  She is a well-known local journalist who
worked for years for the Republican newspaper in Springfield.  

West Side Story's three artistic directors: 
Director David Fried Oppenheim, artistic director and co-director with Sonia
Fried Oppenheim of PACE Theater, who decided to use the play as a catalyst
for joining the current national dialogue on issues of race and "otherness,"
by using multi-racial casting.
Choreographer Maura Nguyen Donohue, director of her own NYC theater company,
"inmixedcompany," focusing on mixed racial issues, whose most dramatic
change in the show was to use contemporary urban street dances instead of
the 1957 Broadway choreography of Jerome Robbins.
Jane Hanson, musical director, founder and director of Jane Hanson
Productions, LLC whose sole mission is Joy and Excellence through the
performing arts, and founder of The Proficient Musician, a company that
provides professional development opportunities for music educators and
performers. 

Members of the cast will also attend.





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