West Side Story @ Chanhassen Dinner Theater, MN

The Chanhassen offers a non-touring rarity this fall: West Side Story performed by professionals. As such, I approached feeling fortunate to have the opportunity to see their work ($54 tix, another $12 for dinner), but left feeling under-whelmed. Two modern realities seemed to hamper the show, music and moderation.

Who can afford a symphony orchestra? Not many. But a couple of synthesizers piping in their music created a canned, disjointed environment. Not only was the lack of precedence annoying with all music coming from speakers above, but it was thin, with too few instruments to support the gorgeous music, with which we are already familiar. While the singers were clear, in tune, and with plenty of volume, they also suffered from the “sound from above” syndrome. I’m no sound engineer, but I can tell when a singer is being supplemented with sound support versus only hearing sound coming from the speakers; unfortunately, we only had the latter. The effect upon the audience of this set-up is always profound, as we are looking at the actor but hearing the words/music solely from elsewhere. It is difficult to emotionally engage with characters when constantly jarred into thinking, “Oh, yeah, those are the character’s lines that match. . .let’s see. . .that character.” Staging appears presentational and affected under these circumstances, as it did at the Chanhassen.

Much like the food, the production was bland, designed to appeal to all 642 audience members (largest dinner theater in the nation). The gangstas wore cheery colors with splashes of black, sported stylish haircuts, smiled often and glowered rarely – nothing to be afraid of here, much less to connect to anything which might be going on outside the theater. The stakes remained low – the passionate love was cliché, the nastiness of their circumstances was trivialized, and the fighting was never more than impressive stage movement. In short, although I desperately wanted to be swept up in the story, I was unable to become emotionally connected.

There were three strong moments in the show deserving of praise. First, the set design by Nayna Reynes was predictable until the lovers were “married” and the stage lights were dimmed while the lights placed behind the set began glowing, immersing everyone in a warm, starlit, otherworldly plane. Instant and profound mood change, as I sighed with appreciation at the adept handling of this moment. Secondly, the director added “One Hand, One Heart” couples on stage in various intimate poses which contributed significantly to creating a beautiful moment which visually depicted what the two lovers felt. And finally, the choreography was crisp, active, and powerful, with a leaning toward ballet which aided the magical moments of the show.

Like most, I enjoy the music, the dancing, and the passion of the lovers in West Side Story. Unfortunately, the Chanhassen seemed to like the big name draw and the movie. They consistently moved toward replication of recognizable scenes rather than stretching with the artistic opportunities of the script. Those with fond memories of the movie may be pleased by this production as it will guide them to a comfortable, familiar place.