Signature’s Gardiner on ‘West Side Story’

By now, it’s probably not a surprise that rising theater star and associate artistic director at Signature Theater Matthew Gardiner would be the obvious choice to direct the Arlington theater’s production of “West Side Story,” which runs through Jan. 24.

Gardiner was nominated, after all, for two Helen Hayes awards for best director this year—for “Sunday in the Park with George” (winner) and “Cabaret.” And he’s been a go-to director for both more or less mainstream musicals (“Xanadu”) and more off-the-beaten-path straight plays like “Tender Napalm,” “Art” and “Really, Really.”

“Actually, ‘West Side Story’ is my all-time-ever favorite musical,” said Gardiner, who was picked for the associate artistic spot in 2011. “It’s perfect. I think it’s the best structured musical drama ever written. For me, it’s practically perfect.” 

“My first contact with it was the film version, pretty much like most people and I fell in love with it. That opening scene of the gangs coming at you in the screen, that was really memorable,” he said. “I also saw the touring pre-Broadway production several years ago, and I actually liked it a lot, although some critics had problems with it.”

That version had dialogue and lyrics spoken and sung by the Puerto Rican in Spanish.  “I thought that made sense, I think it was very strong. But we’re not doing that.”

Gardner grew up with his twin brother James in College Park, Maryland.  He started out wanting to be a dancer, and as such had roles in productions of the Christmas venerables, “The Nutcracker” at Washington Ballet and “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre.

“It’s remarkable, I know, that we’ve never actually done ‘West Side Story’ before,” Gardiner said. “The lyrics, after all, are by Stephen Sondheim, and we certainly are known for doing Sondheim.  It’s no small undertaking, that’s for sure.”

There are two factors at work for Gardiner in approaching what is such a classic, familiar work.

“You always think in big, expansive terms with this show, it has all this dancing,” he said. “You’re looking at it in a panorama way. The theater here is set up differently, and so we can emphasize the intimacy of the show as well as its larger component.  You’re going to be ten, 20 or more feet away from the stage up close and personal, and I think this way, you’ll get involved with the characters in ways that aren’t possible in the move or a normal stage.”

“To me, the lyrics and the music are so moving, and experiencing things this way brings something touching for the audience,” he said.

The other critical component of “West Side Story” is that it will feel brand new or, as in the expression “ripped from the headlines.”