To huge audience acclaim, three Stagecoach Vancouver Eastside students Forrest (18), Emily (17) and Timothy (17) joined students from Stagecoach schools throughout the UK, Germany, Ireland and Malta in a dazzling production of the classic American musical 'West Side Story' at the Leatherhead Theatre in Surrey, United Kingdom.
 
Earlier in the year approximately 600 students from around the country and abroad had auditioned to join the cast of 'West Side Story,' this summer's Easy Stages production. 'Easy Stages' is an annual musical produced by Stagecoach and directed and choreographed by a professional team, featuring students over the age of eight who have been at Stagecoach for more than three years. 
 
In mid August, under the team of director Ally Altman Cutler, musical director Francis Goodhand and choreographer Tony Aiken, a talented cast of 76 Stagecoach students brought this seminal musical to the stage. And with just two and a half weeks to cast and rehearse the production before opening night, the Stagecoach students and production team had a real challenge on their hands. 
 
As anyone who was in the audience will testify, it was a challenge they met and surpassed. With high energy dance routines and magnificent singing throughout, it was a triumphant production. The students more than rose to the occasion, and this emotionally powerful show was met with equally powerful performances across the board.
 
Huge congratulations to all those involved!
 
Photographs courtesy of Mark Dean