WEST SIDE STORY

Based on a Conception of JEROME ROBBINS
Book by Music by Lyrics by
ARTHUR LAURENTS LEONARD BERNSTEIN STEPHEN SONDHEIM

Entire Original Production Directed
And Choreographed by JEROME ROBBINS

Originally Produced on Broadway by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince
By Arrangement with Roger L. Stevens

The 50th Anniversary production

opens on March 19, 2009 at the Palace Theater

review

If you are a fan of West Side Story.... and I am a big fan....  this revival is fantastic and completely unmissable.  The international cast 're-live' the movie and bring the original stage show back to live with such energy that the cast was repaid with a 10 minute ovation.

When Bernstein wrote West Side Story in the '50's for the Broadway stage, it took musical theatre to a completely new level.  More like a fix of opera and modern dance, the production highlighted the fact that the only real American 'cultural' invention - the musical - could be more than just sweet songs and happy endings.

Bernstein's modern Romeo and Juliet (for the stage) was, and still is, a tragedy.   Today it accurately maintains its original purpose: to highlight tensions between families and different races.

Unlike in the film (if you are familiar with the film and too young to have see the original stage production) in this stage version the roles of the two lovers - Tony and Maria - are perfectly credible.  The Sadler's Well's audience could actually feel the sizzle of the protagonists as they declared their 'short-lived' love for each other.

The revival of the original has lost little of its freshness.  It maintains its momentum because the characters and the brilliant choreography gives the show its relentless appeal, despite the fact that some of the songs and lyrics are not very hip.

West Side Story is musical theatre at its best.  Every high school should be 'putting on the show' to illustrate how the story of Romeo and Juliet has a generic message which defies time, location or culture.  The plot mirrors life today on the streets of London and many other towns and cities around the world .  The tragic and inevitable outcome - death by stabbing - is the  harsh conclusion and a stark reminder of tis timeless musical. 

West Side Story changed the course of musical theatre when it opened on Broadway in 1957. It remains one of the most successful stage shows of all time.

Having sold out recently in Paris, Tokyo, Beijing anfdd London, fifty years later, as part of its fiftieth anniversary world tour, the original Broadway classic is re-staged on Broadway, directed and choreographed afresh by Joey McKneely - former assistant to Jerome Robbins.

Alongside the stage musical, and the 1961 film version, which won ten Academy Awards, the original creative team of West Side Story have gained legendary status. The groundbreaking choreography by the legendary Jerome Robbins, book by Arthur Laurents, and the unforgettable score by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, dealt with dark themes and marked a turning point in American musical theatre. Based on Romeo and Juliet and focusing on social issues, the extended dance scenes, and the unforgettable songs, including 'Maria', 'Tonight', 'Somewhere', 'America', and 'I Feel Pretty', have become part of public consciousness the world over.

Set on Manhattan's Upper West Side, West Side Story explores the rivalry between two teenage gangs; one white the other Puerto Rican. When Tony falls in love with Maria, the sister of the rival gang's leader, the feud takes on a new dimension, and as their love blossoms so begins a fatal journey overshadowed by violence and hatred.

Joey McKneely has choreographed and directed extensively on Broadway and his credits include Smokey Joe's Cafe, Hal Prince's production of Whistle Down The Wind and Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night. He staged and choreographed West Side Story at La Scala in Milan and has worked on many Hollywood movies. He choreographed The Boy From Oz, with Hugh Jackman in the leading role, before embarking on the direction and choreography for this production of West Side Story.

This new version is the only modern day production which may call itself 'The Original' and is the only production currently licensed to tour internationally.