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76 year-old musical supervisor keeps West Side Story in tune

SINGAPORE – The popular musical West Side Story returns to the Singapore stage and at the heart of the production is a 76 year-old man.

West Side Story runs from now until Sept 30 at the Marina Bay Sands. Photo: Cheryl Lin/ TODAY

West Side Story runs from now until Sept 30 at the Marina Bay Sands. Photo: Cheryl Lin/ TODAY

SINGAPORE – The popular musical West Side Story returns to the Singapore stage and at the heart of the production is a 76 year-old man.

Donald Chan, the all-American production’s musical supervisor, has directed over 3,000 performances of West Side Story – more than any conductor the show has ever had. “I am the old guy who makes sure everyone does things right,” Chan joked.

Despite having conducted so many shows of the same musical, Chan remains passionate about West Side Story. “(The music) is so wonderful, it has so many different factions in it – latin music, classical, ballet, jazz. Not many shows have this kind of variety in music, which is why it’s wonderful to do all the time.”

“For other shows if you have one style of music it gets boring after a while,” said Chan, who has directed over 100 other musicals and operettas.

“You also have different casts and different orchestra members so each time you do it it’s a bit of challenge,” he added.

When asked about retirement, Chan exclaimed: “Retiring? Are you kidding? If I retired, I would die! And us, Asians, we live a long time!”

Lead actress Natalie Ballenger, who plays Maria in the musical, has been touring since October last year and has 240 shows under her belt.

“You can’t get sick of it because it’s timeless,” said Ballenger. She most enjoyed the character’s story arc that provided depth – something that “young soprano roles” often miss out on, she added.

On the other hand, 26 year-old Marc Koeck who plays the lead character Tony enjoys the role for its simplicity.

“It lets me be a kid. As an actor, so often you overthink it but with these characters (who are 17 years old), you get a free pass to just be in that moment. It’s so not complicated,” said Koeck, who has been acting in West Side Story productions for over three years.

West Side Story by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions will run from Tuesdays to Sundays until Sept 30 at Marina Bay Sands. Tickets are available from Sistic.

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