Carnegie Hall today announced that it has cast three lead actors for its upcoming production of West Side Story, to be presented in three performances only on March 4, 5, and 6, 2016 at the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens.
The musical will star Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening original cast on Broadway, the films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2, and the upcoming Epix TV series Graves opposite Nick Nolte) as Tony, Bianca Marroquín (Chicago, In The Heights, The Pajama Game on Broadway) as Anita, and Morgan Hernandez, an 18-year-old phenom currently studying at the Boston Conservatory who will make her New York debut as Maria. Additional cast members are to be announced.
The production is directed by
Amanda Dehnert, and
Marin Alsop, a protégé of
Leonard Bernstein's, will serve as musical director and conductor, with professional artists in lead roles and the participation of more than 200 high school students from around the city both in the cast and in a chorus specially created for this presentation. The production team will also include choreographers
Julio Monge (Fosse,
Jerome Robbins' Broadway) and
Sean Cheesman (So You Think You Can Dance), musical supervisor
Leslie Stifelman (Chicago), scenic designer
Eugene Lee (Wicked, Saturday Night Live), costume designer
Tracy Christensen (Sweeney Todd and Company at the
New York Philharmonic), lighting designer
Edward Pierce (Amazing Grace, Wicked), sound designer
Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, It Shoulda Been You), technical director
David Benken (Aladdin, The Lion King), and casting by Stewart/Whitley (On The Town, Pippin).
Tickets for West Side Story will go on sale later this fall.
In anticipation of this new production,
Carnegie Hall also announced that it has partnered with Soundfly to create an eight-part interactive companion course on West Side Story available to users around the globe free of charge. This new online resource, available at
Soundfly.com/WestSideStory, includes lessons about the history and social issues that inspired the original musical, as well as practical instructions from professionals on all facets of performance, including songwriting, dance, acting, audition preparation, and more. The course also includes videos by experts in the field, as well as printable resources, discussion prompts, creative challenges, and suggested readings.
The performances of West Side Story and the companion course are part of
The Somewhere Project, a season-long, citywide exploration of the famed musical. Presented by
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) in celebration of the Hall's 125th anniversary, this creative learning project will engage people through events in all five boroughs of New York City, all inspired by "Somewhere," the classic song that forms the affirmative core of West Side Story.
Throughout the 2015-2016 season, WMI will support the creation of new works by students and community members. Some of this original music, created by participants in WMI programs and workshops, will be featured in free
Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts in all five boroughs leading up to the West Side Story performances. In addition, arts organizations and other city partners will join the conversation with their own programs, including visual art, poetry, music, and dance projects. Some of this new work will be presented at the Knockdown Center in tandem with the performances of the musical. Experiencing West Side Story as a celebration of community and music will encourage artists and audiences alike to consider the work's timeless themes, inviting all to imagine "a place for us." Complete details will be announced later this fall.
Inspired by
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the beloved American theater classic West Side Story resonates as strongly today as it did when it was written in 1957. The collaboration between choreographer
Jerome Robbins, composer
Leonard Bernstein, writer
Arthur Laurents, and lyricist
Stephen Sondheim produced a timeless tale of rival street gangs and forbidden love in 1950s New York with music that has been performed and recorded by major orchestras and artists around the world, also inspiring an Academy Award-winning motion picture in 1961.
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