If you’ve ever imagined what it would be like if the Sharks and Jets from West Side Story fought with lightsabers instead of switchblades, your dream has been realized. In “West Side Saber,” the climactic showdown between rival gang members Riff and Bernardo seamlessly incorporates the green and red luminescent weapons of Star Wars. While these sabers are cut down to the compact size of a knife, they come complete with their familiar vibrato sound effects, echoing fluidly with the jabbing, choreographed motions of the fight.
And here, they prove just as deadly as the ones that felled Obi Wan-Kenobi and many others: Riff still succumbs dramatically to the force of Bernardo’s weapon, as the surviving Jedis stare on in utter shock.
