Jewish Tony the star of West Side
CHANTAL ABITBOL
PERFORMER Josh Piterman may be a good Jewish boy from the right side of the tracks, but he’ll soon be playing it tough when he stars as Tony in the upcoming Australian revival of the Leonard Bernstein classic, West Side Story.
On Monday, the rising star showed a glimpse of the towering vocals that landed him the part, when the musical’s director announced the young cast at Star City’s Lyric Theatre in Sydney.
It’s a quite a coup for the Melbourne-bred singer who, at the age of 24, will be headlining his first major musical production.
“It’s been my dream role since I can remember,” he told The AJN. “It’s musical theatre’s Romeo. I feel like the luckiest guy ever.”
The musical — set in New York in the 1950s and based on Shakespeare’s tale of two star-crossed lovers — will kick off a six-week run in Sydney on July 1. The production will then make its way to Melbourne, opening at the Regent Theatre from August 20, before embarking on a tour of the rest of the country.
It is a gruelling schedule, but nothing Piterman shouldn’t be able to handle.
He is used to being on the road, after capping off an almost two-year stint touring with pop-opera act The Ten Tenors in September.
He also recently performed alongside Geoffrey Rush in The Drowsy Chaperone with the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Regarding his latest role, he said he’s keen to make it his own.
“There is a new breed of Broadway performers, young men and women, who [have] this new look on the revival, and it’s totally a fresh start. I want to [approach it] like that,” said Piterman, who graduated from the University of Ballarat Arts Academy in music theatre. In his short career he has already amassed a slew of credits, including roles in The Rocky Horror Show, Kiss Me, Kate and the Melbourne Opera Company’s Madame Butterfly.
“I’m heading over to New York soon, and I don’t want to watch the show; I just want to do my own research and find my own Tony. Hopefully it will work out.”
On his string of successes, he said: “It’s crazy. Everything is happening in my life in one big moment. I just got engaged in November. The Tenors was wonderful. Performing alongside Geoffrey Rush is just something I will never forget … and now this. I couldn’t have scripted it better.”
West Side Story will premiere at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre from Thursday, July 1. Bookings: (02) 8512 9020. The show opens at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne on August 20. Bookings: www.ticketek.com.au.