“West Side Story”

Ally
Apr 2, 2021
3 min read

It’s been TEN YEARS since West Side Story.

Ten years since I tied a little white bow into my hair every night, wiped my arms and legs down with tanning lotion, and poured everything from the deepest parts of my soul into each line and lyric on that stage.

Ten years since I connected so deeply with a character I could have sworn that she was a part of me.

Ten years since I opened my heart and smiled, sang, danced, and wept in front of hundreds of people.

And most importantly, ten years since I found myself falling head over heels for my “Anton,” my “Tony,” who would become the love of my life, my very best friend, husband and the father of my beautiful children.

I don’t know that there are words that could perfectly describe what this show meant to me. The cast member felt like family, and will permanently have a place in my heart.

I didn’t know it at the time, but over a dozen years of shows, music, dance and voice training had all led up to that final moment, and that last bow on the Civic Center stage.

I vividly remember the smell of hairspray and the warm, golden glow of the dressing room lights. I can still feel the excitement as crowds could be heard through the backstage speakers as they filled into the theater and found their seats.

I can still see paper stars with hand-written notes taped on the mirrors, roses wrapped in tissue paper, lipstick kisses on printed signs, mic lights glowing through costumes, and dance parties that spilled out of the guys’ fitting room into the busy backstage hallway. And I can still feel the anxious excitement of stepping out of that hallway and into the black darkness of the side of the stage, filled with scenery and props, and hearing the orchestra begin to play.

I look back and think of the years of changes that have happened since that final curtain closed. A close knit group of theater kids who were growing up together eventually grew apart. People who I considered sisters and brothers became adults who followed different paths and careers, some starting families of their own.

And I can’t think of West Side Story without thinking of my dear friend who is no longer with us. A guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and filled every rehearsal with warm hugs and smiles. A guy who, by my own fault, I lost touch with and I will always feel broken for it. A guy who will forever be listed on Facebook as my little brother and who I will hold close for the rest of my life.