West Side Story was one of the first musicals I fell in love with, and I thought I knew everything about it. But Matthew López's play
Somewhere, which premiered in San Diego in 2011 and is currently receiving its
regional premiere on the Guthrie's proscenium stage, helped me see it in a new light. He tells the story of a fictional Puerto Rican family (much like his own) living on the West Side of Manhattan in the late '50s when
West Side Story was all the rage on Broadway. They're an artistic family with dreams of being in this show that they love so much, dreams that are deferred when they're evicted from their home - the entire West Side neighborhood known as San Juan Hill was about to be demolished to make way for Lincoln Center. The play is a love letter to New York City, to Broadway, to dreaming big. It's about family and the sacrifices we have to make to survive, while still trying to hold on to those dreams. It's another version of a West Side story that's perhaps more true to the community of people who called it home, and what happened after they were forced to find a new home. This moving dance-infused family drama
continues through February 1.
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the family gathers for dinner (Preston Perez, José Sabillón,
Maggie Bofill, Sam Stoll, and Kassandra Cruz, photo by Dan Norman) |
We're introduced to the Candelaria family by eldest son Alejandro, who immigrated to NYC from Puerto Rico with his parents when he was three, followed by the birth of younger siblings Rebecca and Francisco. The beloved family patriarch is a singer/dancer/performer who's always on the road and occasionally sends home money, but they haven't heard from him in over a year, leaving the family in a sticky financial situation. After a small role in
The King and I when he was 15 years old, Alejandro has given up his dreams of being a dancer and taken over the role of head of the family, working 80 hours a week at a grocery store to help pay for food and dance lessons for his siblings. When they receive the eviction letter informing them that their building will be demolished in a month, his mother Inez tears it up and refuses to make plans. Alejandro's friend Jamie, who lived with the family for years and took dance lessons with them, has found success in the dance world and is now Jerome Robbins' assistant. He also has been largely absent from the family's daily life, so when he returns it's to much love and fanfare. He tries to reason with Inez, but ultimately it's up to Alejandro to try to get his family to safety. Act II sees the family in a new apartment in Spanish Harlem; it's a year later and now the movie adaptation of
West Side Story is filming just outside. This brings another encounter with Jamie and new opportunities for the family. Resentments bubble to the surface, secrets are revealed, and the family must find a new path forward.
This production of
Somewhere reunites the director/choreographer team from the Guthrie's stunning
2018 production of West Side Story - Artistic Director Joseph Haj and Maija Garcia - for a nice continuity and connection with that history. This is not a musical, but dancing is an integral part of the story. It's done both organically, as family members rehearse in the living room, perform for each other, or just dance together for fun, and also in breakout fantasy scenes. It's like the classic musical theater dream ballet, when we get a deeper view into characters' thoughts and feelings through these dance breaks. The dancing is an expressive storytelling device, and also so much fun to watch, reminiscent of
West Side Story and that era but not an exact replica of it. And this play features the most charming and delightful onstage costume stage I've ever seen at the theater!
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| a dancer dances - Presten Perez as Alejandro (photo by Dan Norman) |
The Guthrie has assembled a fantastic cast of five actors all making their Guthrie debuts, although two of them are locals. As the family matriarch, Maggie Bofill is a force of nature, all fiery passion and undying support of her children. Inez is the chief dreamer of the family, but Maggie lets us see that behind that she knows the reality of the world they live in, and is just trying to give her children a better life (and though not locally based, my archives tell me that Maggie has been previously seen in #TCTheater in Mixed Blood's 2013 production of
In the Time of the Butterflies). Preston Perez is in many ways the heart of this story as Alejandro, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He gives such a beautiful and heartfelt performance as a man desperate to care for his family no matter the cost to himself. Throughout the show we get glimpses that he's a dancer, and in the conclusion of the play we finally get to see it, when Preston expresses all of the emotions Alejandro has felt throughout the play, and his relationship with each of the other characters, in dance form. It's a thing of beauty.
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Jamie (Sam Stoll) and Becky (Kassandra Cruz)
dance in the living room (photo by Dan Norman) |
Kassandra Cruz is so charming as younger sister Rebecca, the family's best hope at dancing success; I could totally picture her in
West Sidy Story as she dreams of being. The two locals in the cast are José Sabillón and Sam Stoll. José (recently seen in a heartbreaking performance in
Between Riverside and Crazy) was out the night I saw the show, replaced by another local J. Antonio Teodoro who was delightfully mischievous as younger brother Francisco, the trouble-maker. Fresh of his eight-month star turn as Danny in
Grease at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Sam Stoll dances his way across the Guthrie stage as Jamie. He's totally believable as the neighborhood kid who made it big through his dancing ability, and also gives the character depth, expressing that conflict of leaving the nest to fly as he was taught to do, and guilt at leaving his family behind. This ensemble truly feels like a family, and speak in authentic accents, mom with a Puerto Rican accent, the kids sounding like mid-century NYC kids (thanks to resident vocal coach Keely Wolter).
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| the Candelaria home (photo by Dan Norman) |
The transition between the two apartments is done well; we can hear set pieces being moved around behind the curtain during intermission. The Act I apartment looks the part of a home that's been built over a couple decades, with Broadway posters and family photos decorating every inch of wall space in the two-room apartment. A couch in the living room on one side, a pleasantly crowded kitchen on the other where the family gathers to eat (real food) for dinner. There's even a quintessential NYC fire escape where characters go to get some fresh air, a smoke, or just distance from the family. The Act II apartment is much more sparse, one room, and looks as if they haven't lived there long. Gone are some of the more homey touches, giving it a more temporary feel. Both apartments are shallow towards the back of the stage, allowing a wide space in front for the dream ballets. These dances, and the ones within the contest of the story, are accompanied by recorded music, either directly from
West Side Story, or variations on the theme, or other period music. Characters are dressed in late '50s era clothing, from casual dance or school clothes, to dress clothes that make them look like extras in
West Side Story. (Scenic design by Lex Liang, costume design by Alejo Vietti, lighting design by Carolina Ortiz Herrera, sound design and composition by John Gromada.)
I really love this play; it has everything I need. Juicy family drama, flawed characters doing their best for love of the family, trauma and devastation mixed with humor and hope, and gorgeous dancing. If you love musicals (especially classic musicals from the mid 20th Century), or family dramas, or dance storytelling,
don't miss Somewhere at the Guthrie Theater through February 1, a great choice to brighten up the post-holiday winter doldrums. And if you're looking for a more affordable option, you can show up at the theater one hour prior to showtime and purchase any remaining seat for $36-41 (depending on day of the week). Or join the Rush Club, and purchase your ticket two hours prior to showtime. Just two days before seeing
Somewhere, I got a $36 rush ticket to see
A Christmas Carol in the 3rd row center (
my 20th time seeing the Guthrie's production, counting the 2020 virtual version)!
Find all the info on rush tickets and other discounts here.
