Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (TORT) presents West Bank Story

Last year I went to go see the law school musical because I knew people in it and I thought it was the thing to do. While I was impressed with my friends (who are, after all, law students, and therefore not expected to be able to sing and dance, Richard Gere in Chicago notwithstanding), the overall performance left me a little wanting. This year, though, it was just so much better. Maybe it's because my expectations were so low. Maybe it's because West Side Story (reborn as West Bank Story – as in the West Bank of the Mississippi, not the Middle East) is a much better framework to mock law school than Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (reborn as Walter Wonka and the Lawyer Factory). Maybe it's because there were more group songs and fewer solos from people who can't exactly sing. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect. Maybe it's because Nate LaCoursiere is one of my favorite drummers to watch, though he was also there last year. Maybe it's just because by now my brain is so full of bad lawyer jokes that a song in which someone complains about having to read The Case of the Thorns to the tune of No Woman No Cry is actually funny to me. Maybe I shouldn't be saying that in public. But that is what good journalism is, and we here are Oh Hell Yeah are several things if not good journalists. So, if you missed West Bank Story, you actually kind of missed out. But don't worry, the DVD will be out soon. And, no, that's not a joke.