Lonny Price Helmed WEST SIDE STORY Opens in Paris

At the final curtain, there was complete silence, and then a thunderous applause erupted. The new production of the musical classic West Side Story with world-famous songs Maria, Tonight, Somewhere, and America celebrated its premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Friday, October 20. After sold-out shows in 2007 and 2012, the musical has returned for its third successful engagement at the renowned Théâtre du Châtelet. As part of a new extended world tour the musical performs in France's capital for ten weeks through December 31, 2023.

See a photo from opening night below!

 

A few notes of the world-famous compositions inspired Parisian audiences to lose themselves in West Side Story's profoundly emotional and visual worlds. Jadon Webster's heartrending portrayal as "Tony" expressed his love to the audience with the classic Maria – and later how this love was fulfilled in the passionate duet Tonight with Melanie Sierra as "Maria." Cheers erupted in Paris for the exuberant dancers and choreography. Standing ovations for an outstanding premiere performance rewarded the 31-member cast and the 20 musicians led by conductor Grant Sturiale.

 

The successful premiere of the guest performance proves once again that West Side Story stands unchallenged as the No. 1 of American musicals – daring, realistic, and as relevant as on the day of its premiere. With its 1957 Broadway premiere,Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim redefined an entire genre, both musically and in terms of dance. Now a new international creative team has assembled around the renowned Broadway director and actor Lonny Price and has opened the next chapter in the classic musical’s epic success story.

 

In mid-December 2022, the thrilling new production of West Side Story launched its multi-year world tour in the very place where the musical celebrated its German premiere on 15 June 1961: at the Deutsches Theater Munich! In 2023, the production toured to 20 cities in ten countries, beyond others to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, to the United Arab Emirates, to Japan and Thailand – it also performed for the very first time and as second international production ever at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, India. The current tour will continue in 2024.

 Photo Credit: Philippe Fretault
 

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