It’s 2013, and that means this year is the 50th anniversary of West Side Story. What better way to celebrate than putting on the musical?

Albany High School’s Threatre Ensemble is hard at work in building the set, preparing the band, conditioning its actors and dancers, and sharpening the voices of the chorus. Rehearsals have already begun, and the musical will be running in April. With many of the cast members’ final year of high school coming to a close, everyone’s preparing themselves both physically and mentally to make this production a success.

West Side Story was originally an American musical written by Arthur Laurents. It was inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The story takes place in the Upper West Side of New York City during the 1950s and 1960s. Instead of the Capulets and the Montagues feuding, it’s two teenage gangs with different ethnic backgrounds: The Jets, native New Yorkers, and The Sharks, who are from Puerto Rico.

The Nest sat down with Mr. Dales to pick his brain about the upcoming show.

The Nest: Did you choose to do this musical or did someone recommend it to you?

Dales: The musical director, choreographer and I chose. The only issue was discussing the talent pool to determine whether or not we can cast it. If you’re doing a show, you need to know the talent that is available.

The Nest: With 2013 marking the 50th anniversary of West Side Story, what do you aim to achieve or prove with this production?

Dales: To celebrate publicly an heirloom musical theater piece that continues to stand the test of time. What will be different about this production of West Side Story is that we’ll be focusing on the violence in order to make the theme of love more powerful, to heal. I look at the environment I work in and I see the violence, and I think it’s a precautionary tale about what happens if love is not your priority in any relationship. The message to the audience we’ll be sending is that they should make sure there’s love present in any relationship you have. Why not be loving with the people you interact with?

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The official show times for this musical will be April 18-20 at 7pm and April 21 at 2pm. The performance location will be the Albany High School Theatre, 700 Washington Ave., Albany, NY. If you have any questions, get in contact with Mr. Dales at [email protected]. The running time will be about two hours and a half with intermission.