What Coquitlam high school is performing 'West Side Story'?

Natalee Lovelock remembers getting goosebumps when she saw the title.

Last June, the drama teacher at Coquitlam’s Pinetree Secondary was flipping through the MIT Musical Theatre Guild catalogue to find a show for the next academic year.

For a few weeks, Lovelock and music teacher Rouvin Seah had been going back and forth about what the high school students could perform at the start of Semester 2.

But then the name appeared in the guide and Lovelock got instant shivers.

West Side Story, a musical dreamt up by Jerome Robbins with music from Leonard Bernstein and lyrics from Stephen Sondheim, was not only a hit, but movie director Stephen Spielberg had recently come out with a film version in 2021 of the 1957 romantic drama.

It was a sign, Lovelock said, as in December, Pinetree Secondary was also to mount an adapted version of Romeo and Juliet at MetFest, the school district’s theatre festival at Heritage Woods Secondary (West Side Story is inspired by the Shakespearean play about star-crossed lovers).

“It felt like it just was meant to be,” Lovelock told the Tri-City News on Jan. 23 at the school.

Opening Wednesday, Jan. 29, West Side Story is the biggest musical ever produced by Pinetree Secondary with 53 students in the cast, 29 students in the crew (of which two are doubling as cast members, Tyson Chalmers and Dayton Jaillet-Byatt, and Mido Lee is also in the orchestra) and 23 musicians in the pit under Seah, who is a Pinetree Secondary graduate.

His ensemble includes his wife, Ruby, plus four Heritage Woods Secondary students while Kylie Fonacier, also a Pinetree alumna, is the musical director for the fourth time.

Chalmers, who portrayed Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks in last year’s production of Annie, takes on the role of Riff, the gang leader of the Jets and Tony’s best friend.

Newly graduated from Pinetree, the 17-year-old telecommunications technician said he wanted to be in the show to conclude his senior year. “It’s like a passion project,” he said. “I didn’t have to take musical theatre but I wanted to be a part of this production. It’s so good.”

Chalmers said about 30 family members will be in the audience to cheer him on.

For Shae Kovaltsenko, Grade 11, she’s thrilled to have won the part of Bernardo’s girl Anita, played by Rita Moreno in the original movie and Ariana DeBose in the 2021 edition.

Since watching the show as a child, “I felt like I’ve always understood her character: Anita is strong and independent. She’s a hard worker and is fiercely loyal to her friends.”

Like with Annie, Kovaltsenko’s mother, Sunny, is stitching the school costumes.

Chiara Go, 16, said she sought the role of Maria during last fall’s school auditions. A dancer with the Caulfield School of Dance in Port Moody, Go told the Tri-City News that she’s wanted to portray the character on stage since she was a child; however, she didn’t think she would get the opportunity because of her ethnicity. “I just never thought it could happen,” Go said.

As for Justin Luo, the Grade 11 student is making his high school début. Last year, he was in the orchestra on his french horn and following the Annie score with Seah.

“I’ve never acted before, but I’m optimistic this will turn out to be fun.”

Tickets at $15/$10 to see West Side Story at Pinetree Secondary School (3000 Pinewood Ave., Coquitlam) can be bought at the door on show nights or through SD43’s School Cash Online system. The curtain rises at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 to 31 and Feb. 5 to 7, 2025.