The Parmentier

Jets vs. Sharks: The Battle is On!

Thursday, May 31, 2012 By Marianys Marte, Staff Reporter

Tonight, tonight, there’s only you tonight.” Does that line sound familiar? If it does, you obviously saw the Drama Club’s latest performance of “West Side Story.” If you didn’t, you sure missed out on a great show! The show had two viewings, one on Thursday, April 26 and another on Friday, April 27. The two-hour show was the Drama Club’s third production with Director Ethan Schlesser. “West Side Story” is based on a rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets are an American gang and the Sharks are a Puerto Rican gang. Maria [a Shark] and Tony [a Jet] fall in love with each other at first sight. Maria’s brother Bernardo tries to stop the romance at every chance he gets because he doesn’t want his little sister to fall for a Jet. Tony does not want to be a Jet anymore. His main focus is Maria since the night they met. Maria and Tony start meeting secretly until a rumble breaks out between the Sharks and the Jets. Tony’s best friend Riff is killed by Bernardo and in a panic, Tony kills Bernardo. At the end of this tragic love story, Tony and Maria seem to finally be together until Chino, Maria’s promised husband, kills Tony right in front of Maria. Maria was played by junior Kaysie Hernandez, Tony was played by a senior at La Salle Academy named Jordan Dinoia, Bernardo was played by senior Melanie Lewis, and Riff was played by senior Sierra Armstrong to name a few. This tragic love story was the last play for the Class of 2012. There were some bittersweet feelings when it came to the ending of the production. Senior Briana Cintron, who played a Jet in the play, says her favorite part of the play was “Officer Krupke.” “I loved ‘Officer Krupke!’ That was my favorite song of the play. The Jets were able to be silly and overly animated. I liked how we got to interact with the audience,” says Briana. The leading man Jordan Dinoia says, “My favorite part is when I die because while I’m lying there on the floor I get to see all the emotions.” Senior Tamara Jolly says, “It was a learning experience because it’s not mandatory, you have an option to be in the play or not. You have to dedicate yourself and decide if its important to you.” The cast spent about two months preparing for the show and according to Junior Gabriela Estevez, their hard work paid off. She enjoyed the show saying, “It was very entertaining! I like that it had romance and some comedy too.” As we say goodbye to the class of 2012, the class of 2013 is ready to put on some exciting productions for the school to enjoy next year. Junior Stephanie Nieves says, “I hope we do ‘Hairspray!’” Look out for the SJHS Drama Club in September of 2012!