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Fitch students tell West Side Story
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The cast and crew of Fitch's production of "West Side Story" gathered for a team photo before their successful second show on Jan. 7.
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Actor Arielle Green (center) played the fiesty and smart Anita, a character who is a Puerto Rican immigrant adjusting to her life in America. Here, Green sings the song "America," which cleverly argues why Manhattan is better than her former home.
By SARAH FOOR
On Jan. 7, the stage of Fitch High School became New York City in the late 1950s, the actors in Fitch’s Drama Club playing the parts of the men and women of two rivaling gangs.
With a lot of precision and style, Fitch brought “West Side Story” to the stage for three nights on Jan. 6-8.
“West Side Story” follows Maria and Tony, who fall in love despite the fact that their families and friends are members of two violent gangs who are at constant odds with each other. Maria and Tony were played by senior Amanda Callahan and junior Joey Corradi, who each had to test their voices with many solo songs during the show.
“I was way more nervous about hitting those high notes yesterday. Now that we had one show go off without a hitch, I’m definitely pumped for tonight,” Callahan explained before the play’s second performance on Jan. 7.
Student director Nicole Balog was available to the cast to feed them lines and to make sure everyone was in the right place.
“We pulled it together yesterday and did well. We could have used a week more to practice, but I think that’s the case with any show. We’ll do great tonight, too,” said Balog.
Highlights of the play included the sassy performance of junior Arielle Green as Anita, and lead actors Callahan and Corradi’s portrayal of the whirlwind romance of Maria and Tony.