Pleasantville, NY is the town that brought us the talented and “pretty, oh so pretty”
Ali Ewoldt, who portrays Maria. Her childhood filled with wonderful memories of performing onstage, it was clear what pastimes would form her career. “My parents got me into dance classes when I was around 3 years old because I was
always dancing all over the house and singing. I did my first professional production when I was 10. It was the Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit production of Phantom, at the Westchester Broadway Theater. I didn’t really do anything. I skipped around in the first scene and then I ran screaming from a chandelier! (Laughter)” “I would sit backstage doing homework and watch the inner workings of how to
put on a musical. I completely fell in love with it.” Knowing that musical theatre might not have panned out to provide the most
stable of careers, Ali opted for a more practical field of study while keeping her theatre skills finely honed on a reputable stage. Majoring in psychology at Yale Uni- versity, she found connections of relevance between her two seemingly opposite passions—giving her an edge to empathize with her roles. “Just being in the mind frame of wanting to understand people and their motiva-
tions…it’s certainly an asset in performing.” Now residing in Manhattan, Ali has relished her excursions to California since
graduating from Yale University and playing Princess Jasmine in Disneyland’s Alad- din show. “I lived in Anaheim for eight months without a car or a driver’s license, which is
absurd. (Laughter) This is really the first time I’ve been back—this time with a license and access to a car—so it’s much more enjoyable, I must say.” With a psychology degree and three priorWest Side Story productions under her
belt, Ali is perfectly equipped to take on one of modern theatre’s most beloved roles. Her latest foray into the mind of Maria inspires her to acutely deconstruct the famous character. “I haven’t tried to psychoanalyze Maria too thoroughly, (laughter) but what I thought was amazing was that the ‘traditional’ conception of Maria is that she’s very innocent, very passive. But, the way that Arthur Laurents saw it, which I completely agree with, is that she’s also smart and funny. While she doesn’t have a lot of experi- ence in her life so far, that doesn’t mean she’s not an active agent in what happens. It’s in the script all along. Maria is the one who says to Tony, ‘You have to go stop the rumble!’ She’s the one who says, ‘No, don’t go to the police. Stay with me!’ She makes all these things happen in the show. She’s not in control of Tony, but he’s the dreamer and she’s the realist. It’s really exciting to be able to play all aspects of her. She’s been in America for about a month when the show starts, so she hasn’t been able to anything. She’s dying to get out there and see what excitement is there. Then she’s caught in the middle of this cultural conflict—she has a man who she’s madly in love with and her brother completely disagrees. She has to navigate between those two extremes. Arthur wanted her to be a very complicated and multi-faceted character.” Having grown up watching the 1961 film and seeing it come together on various
stages, Ali says that, “as actors, I think we all have dream roles. For me, with my look and my voice, I’ve always dreamt of getting to play Maria. When opportunity arose, I leapt at the chance.” Ali was thrilled to have been included in this assemblage of talent—which incor-
porated the consulting wisdom of Arthur Laurents. “It’s his vision that we’re interpreting, just getting to work with him was beyond
an honor. To hear what the joy was about from the man who created it was phenom- enal.” Laurents isn’t the only one enjoying Ali’s praise. Ryan Ghysels, dance captain and
wearer of many “Shark” hats, brings to life much of the choreography that pumps up the gang brawl scenes. “Thankfully (laughter), I’m mostly exempt from the dancing in the show. Ryan is phenomenal in the show…and I am not a phenomenal dancer. I luckily get to sit back and watch! The few things that I do, he has been there to help.” Ryan, whose capacity with the production keeps growing due to his strengths as a
performer, is also a childhood stage veteran. He covers the dance moves of both the “Jets” and the “Shark” boys—more understudy work than anyone in the company! Already an expert because of his experiences on theWest Side Story international tour, Ryan worked closely with Joey McKneely to perfect every choreographed stretch of human capability. After trying out “many, many majors,” in Ryan’s words, he graduated from USC after studying communications. “As a dance captain, it helped me to learn to communicate with people better, getting my point across and managing groups of people in a different way.” Due to his roles as many of the “Jet” boys, specifically Baby John and A-Rab, Ryan
gets to gauge his full range of skills beyond physical dexterity. Ideally, he would like to, as he puts it, “graduate to playing someone a little older than a 16-year-old. (Laughter) Maybe a nice, young adult lead, like Fiyero inWicked.” Originally from Southern California, Ryan currently lives in New York and is openly
gay, though he doesn’t feel that being out has affected his success. “Living in New York, everybody there is gay. (Laughter) The dancers at auditions,
we all see each other at the bars as well, so you kind of make friends with everybody. I never felt that I’ve been held back or hindered in any way. Especially in this show, it kind of helps because you can relate to being a minority, like the ‘Sharks.’ You relate to having to fight for your love and just to be yourself. You have to overcome all the hate in the world just to survive.”
West Side Storyplays at Segerstrom Hall from Tuesday, September 6 through Sunday, September 18. Tickets start at $20. For more information, call 714.556.2787 or visit
scfta.org.
SEPTEMBER 2011 | RAGE monthly 19
Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt (c) Joan Marcus, 2010
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