HAILEYBURY PRESENTS
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
WEST SIDE STORY IS AN EPIC, VIOLENT, HEARTBREAKING, ROMANTIC TRAGEDY.
It is a classic for a reason. Based on Romeo and Juliet, Bernstein’s music and rhythm prove every bit as challenging as Shakespeare’s metre and language. Yet there are clues in each harmony, time change and lyric. The message needs to be discovered by each generation.
In an increasingly polarised world, this story seems just as relevant as 16th century England or 1960s New York.
Ostensibly, two rival gangs fight over a neighbourhood that is being redeveloped and gentrified. Their hate stems from who is ‘American enough’: the newly arrived immigrant (The Sharks), or those whose parents and grandparents were immigrants (The Jets). They cannot see their similarities; rather, they are swayed by fear and act with violence.
But it is also a musical about hope. Beyond Tony and Maria’s love, West Side Story is a tale of mateship and the power of forgiveness, of breaking the cycle of hate and aggression. Maybe.
Notice how the audience is positioned to feel at the end of Acts 1 and 2.
It is unrelentingly sad and quiet.
In these moments, we encourage you to consider the bravery of Maria’s invitation of reconciliation in the final moments of the show. Sit with the power of a cast of young actors singing in harmony and dancing in unison. Sit with the lyrics that challenge and promise that, together:
We’ll find a new way of living
We’ll find a way of forgiving Somewhere
Nicole Smith Director/Producer
MUSICAL DIRECTOR’S NOTES
I am thrilled to present West Side Story - School Edition to you today. Widely regarded as one of the greatest musicals of all time, it feels particularly fitting to present this work on a such a grand scale in Aikman Hall at Haileybury.
The School Edition was released in only 2018, 61 years after it premiered on Broadway in 1957, and makes sensitive yet conservative edits to the original libretto and score. Our cast have rehearsed vigorously through Term 1 and holidays to bring this beautiful score to life. The camaraderie and social network built amongst students, even across “gang lines”, have been touching to observe.
This show includes many classic tunes such as ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’, ‘I Feel Pretty’ and ‘Somewhere’. The latter has been transformed into a full company number with luscious vocal harmonies, creating a moment of unity deep within the complex dramatic colour of the second act. Bernstein’s compositional language juggles harmonic dissonance and rhythmic meter irregularities, where beats and counts are always shifting, in the fight music, alongside
soaring vocal harmonies in the romantic and playful songs. Sondheim more than complements this, bringing exhilarating poetic lyricism to Bernstein’s score.
Our live staff orchestra this year numbers 32 players. I am delighted to have Haileybury’s largest ever musical orchestra visible behind the upstage scrim curtain, at times illuminated through its semitransparent fabric. I am immensely grateful to the Haileybury Music staff for rising to the challenge of performing what is arguably the most difficult musical theatre music ever written.
My deepest thanks must lie with our performing student cast. The learning and skill required for this show is not for the faint-hearted. The strength, enthusiasm, and passion with which our Haileybury students serve this production far exceed the expectations of conventional high-school musical benchmarks.
Enjoy the show.
Robert Latham Musical Director
THE JETS THE SHARKS
TONY
PLAYED BY RILEY ZHAO
RIFF
PLAYED BY BEN HARROP ACTION
PLAYED BY TYLER ALLAN
BERNARDO
PLAYED BY LUCA MOUTSOS
PLAYED BY SCARLETT SUAREZ A-RAB
PLAYED BY ABIR BAJPAI
MARIA
PLAYED BY EVA SANTALUCIA
CHINO
PLAYED BY MAX CROUCH
THE ADULTS
DOC
PLAYED BY TEA HANKS
KRUPKE
PLAYED BY HARRY PERRY /WILLIAM MACAULAY
SCHRANK
PLAYED BY WILLIAM MACAULAY /HARRY PERRY
GLAD HAND
PLAYED BY ARABELLA WALKER
THE JETS
TONY
Riley Zhao
RIFF
Ben Harrop
Tyler Allan
A-RAB
Abir Bajpai
BABY JOHN
Hamish Peatman
ANYBODYS
Kiara Gadd
THE SHARKS
BERNARDO
Luca Moutsos
MARIA
Eva Santalucia
ANITA
Scarlett Suarez
CHINO
Max Crouch
PEPE
Jack Coster
SNOWBOY
Rhys Kelly
BIG DEAL
Haveesh Surendran
DIESEL
Ethan Tran
GEE-TAR
Alex Van Gils
MOUTHPIECE
Grace Wakeling
TIGER
Vinay Parappat
GRAZIELLA
Freya Haupt
VELMA
Keesha Lay
MINNIE
Lila Noble
CLARICE
Alexandra Perfect
PAULINE
Emmy McBride
CONSUELO
Aoife Currie
ROSALIA
Amelly Chea
TERESITA
Milana Kumykova
FRANCISCA
Anaina Bharucha
ESTELLA
Baveshka Surendran
MARGARITA
Juliet Nazaretian
SHARK GANG
Michael Kabbas
Alexander Tzouvelis
Colt Facey
Lia Adams
Arabella Walker
Audrey Destratis
THE ADULTS
DOC
Tea Hanks
SCHRANK
William Macaulay
Harry Perry
KRUPKE
Harry Perry
William Macaulay
GLAD HAND
Arabella Walker
FEATURED DANCERS ENSEMBLE
Abir Bajpai
Hamish Peatman
Rebekah Curphey
Eva Santalucia
Scarlett Suarez
Carys Gilmour
Emmy McBride
Lia Adams
Alexandra Perfect
Keesha Lay
Freya Haupt
Audrey Destratis
Olivia Dunbar
Jessica Lavalds
Lila Noble
Tayla Perry
Cooper Westley
Mavis Varghese
Vivian Peiris
Aurora Walker
Carys Gilmour
Alice Taberner
Oliva Kuzma
Eliza Bystrzycki
Henry Zhao
Rebekah Curphey
Carys Gilmour
Emmy McBride
Olivia Dunbar
Millie Sola
STUDENT CREW BACKSTAGE
STAGE MANAGER
Ella Wang
STAGE MANAGER
Jeanette Wheeler
LIGHTING OPERATOR
Oliver Schreurs
Kacy Huang
Emily Newman
Chloe Chan
Chloe Zhang
Suri Jiao
Mary Theodoropoulos
Chelsea Le
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR
Ms Nicole Smith
CO-PRODUCERS
Ms Nicole Smith and
Mr Matthew Sanderson
MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR
Mr Robert Latham
COSTUME DESIGN
Ms Nicole Smith
HAIR AND MAKEUP DESIGNER
Mrs Jayde Holden
SOUND DESIGN
Gerard Hook
SET DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Christina Logan-Bell
CHOREOGRAPHER AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Mr Dylan Dickson
REHEARSAL ASSISTANT
Mrs Lara Wittels
LIGHTING DESIGN
Mr Matthew Sanderson and Ms Nicole Smith
TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR
Mr Matthew Sanderson
POSTER AND PROMOTIONAL DESIGN
Mr Andrew Thomson
VIDEO CONTENT PRODUCER
Mr Ben Mills
PHOTOGRAPHY
Jacob McCormack
AUDIO DIRECTOR
Ms Erica D’Angelo
CARPENTERS
Sean Breen and Mark Gardiner
TICKETING AND ADMINISTRATION
Roslyn Rodgers
TRANSPORT OFFICER
Karen Fitzharris
SCAFFOLDING
Revolution Staging
VOLUNTEER COSTUMIERS
Ms Jane Smith and
Mrs Diane Latham
GUEST VOCAL COACH
Dr Ian Nisbet
THE ORCHESTRA
CONDUCTOR / MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Mr Robert Latham
ORCHESTRA MANAGER, VOCAL ASSISTANT
Mrs Fiona Majstorovic
KEYBOARD
Ms Jermaine Wong
BASS
Mr Nathan Post
DRUMS
Mr Greg Ryan
CELLO 1
Ms Myfanwy Bramble
CELLO 2
Mr Jason Lim
CELLO 3
Mr Marcus Chen
CELLO 4
Dr Diana Wuli
GUITAR
Mr Sergio Ercole
HORN 1
Miss Rosie Yang
HORN 2
Mrs Ella Moulton
PERCUSSION
Mr Steve Falk
PERCUSSION
Mr Matthew Brennan
PERCUSSION
Dr Aaron McCoullough
REED 1
Dr Dominique Chaseling
REED 1
Ms Angela Mallia
REED 2
Mr Joel Hands-Otte
REED 3
Mr Lionel Bailey
REED 4
Ms Sally Haworth
REED 5
Mrs Hamble Geary
TROMBONE 1
Mr Simon Carter
TROMBONE 2
Mr Joe O’Callaghan
TRUMPET 1
Mr Tristan Rebien
TRUMPET 2
Mr David Robinson
TRUMPET 3
Mr Rod Marshall
VIOLIN 1
Ms Bernie Baker
VIOLIN 2
Miss Emily Cameron
VIOLIN 3
Ms Athaya Anaduta
VIOLIN 4
Mrs Athena Dennis
VIOLIN 5
Ms Kim Ho
VIOLIN 6
Mrs Katie Squires
VIOLIN 7
Ms Tania Casey
Haileybury ... Take your seat
An
exciting opportunity is available to each member of the Haileybury Community. Become part of our history!
Constructed in 1982, through the generosity of past generations, Aikman Hall is the main focal point of Haileybury’s Performing Arts and serves all of Haileybury’s Melbourne campuses as the School’s main auditorium. Located at Haileybury Keysborough, the hall is utilised for assemblies, musicals, concerts, dramatic productions, speech nights and graduations, among other community activities.
With the assistance of the Haileybury Building Fund, as managed by the Haileybury Foundation, this much loved facility of over 35 years is being given an exciting redevelopment with the installation of new seating throughout.
Each valued member of the Haileybury Community is invited to contribute a tax deductible gift for ‘Haileybury... Take Your Seat’, an opportunity to support the Haileybury Foundation by recognising those connected to Haileybury – a loved one, student, staff member or community member, in naming a seat. Each $500 donation will allocate a named plaque to a seat in Aikman Hall for the life of the refurbishment.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Examples of plaques may include:
Mr John Smith
The Jones Family Jenney Brown 1937 – 2015 OH 1984
This incredible opportunity to help secure Haileybury’s future and become part of its history won’t last long. To ensure your place go to foundation.haileybury.com.au before all seats sell out!
All plaques will be allocated to seats on a first come first served basis according to availability. Tax deductible receipts will be provided for all donations and will be allocated to the Haileybury Building Fund. Receipts will be sent along with notification of when plaques are ready to view after installation.
Donating a plaque is for the purposes of naming that seat only. It does not guarantee your placement at events. All seating will remain open to the community regardless of the seat and who has named it. The wording on your plaque must be written within the limits given. Haileybury reserves the right to ask you to reword your message if it deems necessary, the School retains sole discretion on all such matters. Once a plaque is ordered, the donation becomes non refundable. The plaque is valid for the life of the refurbishment.
THANKS
Our thanks go to the Director of Performing Arts, Mr Rod Marshall and the Haileybury Executive team for investing in such an epic show. The opportunity to have a 32-piece orchestra, on stage with our students and to tackle such a challenging classic has been a truly wonderful experience.
Thank you to Nada Razum and Facilities for always helping where possible. We have such a large team of people willing to support behind the scenes.
The Haileybury Marketing team for incredible designs and creative communication.
Jane Smith and Diane Latham for volunteering their time to help with costumes.
Emily Peatman (OH2021) for additional choreography and rehearsal assistance.
Thank you to our 2026 Drama Captains, Tyler Allan, Arabella Walker and Vice Captains, Riley Zhao and Lia Adams for your leadership both on and off stage. Your positivity and willingness to ‘serve the show’ is inspiring to watch.