Love and death. Romance and rivalry. Welcome to West Side Story, the Queensland Conservatorium’s main stage musical for 2017.
The show, which turns 60 this year, headlines the Queensland Conservatorium’s 60th anniversary line-up.
Hailed as ‘the greatest musical of all time’, the show features a Grammy-winning score by legendary composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, including hits like Maria, America, Somewhere and Tonight.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is set in New York’s Upper West Side in the mid-1950s where racial and social tensions have reached boiling point.
The blockbuster production will feature a triple cast, comprising the entire musical theatre cohort, accompanied by the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.
Final year Bachelor of Musical Theatre student Courtney Monsma is one of three students playing the lead role of Maria.
“It is a dream role,” she says.
“It is amazing to be on stage in the Conservatorium Theatre with a huge set, an orchestra, costumes… it’s what I’ve been working towards for years.”
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