About This Show:
West Side Story is a Broadway musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet, pitting 1950s street gangs - Puerto Ricans vs. Italians - against each other in New York. According to Director Arthur Laurents, who also wrote the book, this revival will be a grittier version with the boys of the street more true to life, including some Spanish in the dialogue.
West Side Story was a landmark show that took the integration of song, dance, and book and used it to deal with current issues in a more real-life setting.
Who’s Who and What’s What:
Jerome Robbins choreographed the mix of ballet and modern dance to the Spanish-influenced sound of Leonard Bernstein and the street-tough (for the times) lyrics of Stephen Sondheim.
Robbins won the Tony for his choreography. For Bernstein and Sondheim, they gave us songs such as “Tonight,” “Somewhere,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty,” and a lot more.
Among the opening-night cast are Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, In the Heights' Karen Olivo as Anita, and Broadway-newcomer Josefina Scaglione as Maria.
Where and When:
- Palace Theatre
1564 Broadway
- Show Times and Tickets
- Previews: February 23, 2009
- Opening: March 19, 2009
- Closing: Open-ended run