New faces of Sydney Harbour’s West Side Story production
Street brawls, gang violence and turf wars- and these guys are paid to do it.Meet the cast of Sydney’s iconic Broadway show, West Side Story, a modern take on the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet.
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STREET brawls, gang violence and turf wars- and these guys are paid to do it.
Meet the cast of Sydney’s iconic Broadway show, West Side Story, a modern take on the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet.
25-year-old Benjamin Purser, from Forest Lodge, has been cast at Hatchet, a member of the Jets gang.
He pursued an honours degree in Linguistics before having a change of heart to pursue performing arts — and he is glad to say it has paid off.
“It was something I always had in the back burner,” he said.
“I needed to do it sooner rather than later, otherwise I’d always regret I’d never done it.”
Purser is preparing to make his musical theatre debut in West Side Story.
“I had a goal for 2018 that by the end of the year, I would successfully audition for a musical,” he said.
“It was the last audition I did for 2018 and up to that point, nothing had happened, I was feeling disappointed.
“It was a really nice way to finish off that year.”
Purser said West Side Story had always been a dream “which makes this even more amazing to join the cast,” he said.
“I find Hatchet a very interesting character, they are young and aggressive, they have a sense of entitlement to the area,” he said.
He said it is an honour to be a part of the production and is “looking forward to being on stage in Sydney Harbour and connecting with the other people on stage and the audience.”
David Whitney, 57, has been cast as Doc, who runs the drugstore where the gangs meet.
Whitney, who has lived in Redfern for the last 15-years is no stranger to the theatre world.
He even performed as Tony in his High School’s production of West Side Story, and said it is a coincidence to be now playing Tony’s mentor.
“Having done the greats, this is the greatest in terms of the perfect combination of musical theatre elements telling a dramatic story,” he said.
“It’s a serious story about serious issues which are still relevant.
“Doc has seen all this before, and can’t believe these kids are fighting over nothing.
“He doesn’t realise how serious it’s going to get.”
Whitney said that is what ultimately drives his character to great sadness.
“I do hope people are moved, it’s a tragedy,” he said.
“As well as enjoying the champagne and the fireworks people will ultimately be moved.”
Pyrmont’s Heath Keating was a song and dance boy, and performing is all that knew growing up.
So it was a no-brainer when he moved to Sydney from the Gold Coast to study at ED5 International. .
Keating has done a number of musicals both in Australia and overseas, and said he is looking forward to ticking West Side Story off his list.
Despite his vast experience, Keating said he still gets nervous at auditions.
“It was a nice surprise, you put in so much time and energy for an audition, so it’s nice when you get that call,” he said.
Keating will play Tiger, a new addition to the character list.
“I actually don’t know about my character at all, if that is my own creation or whether they will give me direction as to who I am, that will be interesting,” he said.
“I’m also covering Snow Boy.”
He said performing on Sydney Harbour is like no other experience in the world and is what he is looking forward to most.
“Performing on Sydney Harbour, not only being my home but also having that backdrop, is like no other in the world,” he said.
“You; ll never be able to replicate that anywhere else in the world, and to do West Side Story, it’s such a classic.”
Keating hopes viewers walk away thinking “wow, that was such a unique experience,” he said.
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