CHANUKAH EDITION
SECTION D PAGE 2
ONE of the more intriguing characters in the musical West Side Story is Anybodys, the tomboy who desperately wants to be accepted as a member of the Jets, a male teenage gang. At the same time, she is acutely aware of her unexpressed desire to find conventional love.
For Alexandra Frohlinger, the actress who plays Anybodys in the national tour of West Side Story, such a role is unique it only exists in West Side Story. And Anybodys is so full of depth this outcast that nobody loves in a show where love is the overriding theme that Frohlinger never tires of playing her, even after some 400 performances over the past year.
West Side Story runs at the DCPA Buell Theater through Jan. 1.
While the story, the songs and the message remain the same, this production is the North American tour of the 2009 Broadway revival of the 1957 Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Jerome Robbins Broadway classic.
Those who are expecting a clone of the 1957 Broadway play or the 1961 film adaptation with all the musical comedy and cultural trappings of that era will be surprised to find a production thats been contemporized for 21st century audiences.
A story of gang rivalry and forbidden love, West Side Story is gritty. Frohlinger, fortunately, finds playing the confused androgynous Anybodys a departure from my real life.
However, it can be cathartic. You take all your burdens and the unpleasantness in your life and get it all out on stage.
ALEXANDRA Frohlinger grew up Winnipeg, Canada, in a wonderful Jewish community which is small but closeknit.
Frohlingers Jewish upbringing in Winnipeg is entwined with her musical theater career.
Her first part was the title role in Oliver at the local JCC. She also performed in all the musicals at the Jewish day school she attended through all 12 grades.
As a child, to boost my self-esteem and to reinforce that being petite is a good thing, my parents enrolled me in dance classes at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
There, I studied and fell in love with all forms of dance: jazz, tap, ballet, pointe and especially musical theater.
From high school, Frohlinger attended the Boston Conservatory where in 2010, she received a bachelor of fine arts, magna cum laude, in musical theater.
She joined the West Side Story tour in October of that year.
At this point in her career, Frohlinger is both grateful and hopeful and the nomadic lifestyle of a performing artist suits her at this stage in her life.
While my residence is in New York, Im hardly ever in New York. Fortunately, I am able to travel. I have no husband, no dog. This is my time to travel.
And shes hopeful that the best is yet to come:
I am looking forward to pursuing my career in New York, across North America and in Europe. I cannot wait for the exciting challenges ahead, and the incredible experiences and people I will encounter along the way.
Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
