West Side Story Revival
2 hours and 40 minutes, with one intermission
West Side Story - 2009 Broadway History , Info & More
Palace Theatre (Broadway)
1564 Broadway New York, NY
More than fifty years ago, a show about New York City changed musical theatre forever. Now, it's coming home to make history once again. This spring, WEST SIDE STORY returns to Broadway in a groundbreaking new production directed by its legendary librettist, Tony Award® winner Arthur Laurents.
From the first notes to the final breath, WEST SIDE STORY is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Mr. Laurents' book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim -- a collection of standards that includes "Tonight," "America," "Maria," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere" -- is widely regarded as one of the best ever written. And the extraordinary, Tony-winning winning choreography by Jerome Robbins completely changed the language of Broadway dance. This production will offer a bold new design that builds on the show's raw power and emotion to create a fresh experience unlike any that came before it.
Don't miss this thrilling presentation of a matchless work of art.
West Side Story - 2009 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR West Side Story
Turf Wars
10 / 10
Now the ninety-one-year-old Laurents is laying his claim to ownership: in this bold makeover, the story rules. From the musical’s first beats—which tone down the finger-snapping thrust of Bernstein’s signature prologue with pauses that allow us to take in the individual gang members—Laurents announces his intention to leave his fingerprints on the classic. They don’t smudge its beauty; in fact, his attempts to heighten the show’s realism only enhance it. In his version, the gang members actually look like teen-agers; the Latina chorus girls are not Broadway beautiful; the costumes (by David C. Woolard) and set designs (by James Youmans) explore the subtle, shadowy ranges of a color palette that takes the show away from glitzy spectacle and toward a grittier, more muted stylization. By eliminating blackouts between scenes, Laurents also adds to the story’s tension. The evening as a whole feels sculpted—no gesture, no word, no visual choice is arbitrary or wasted. Laurents’s most innovative touch is to have the Puerto Ricans sometimes speak and sing in Spanish. Fifty years on, in a multicultural America, this decision makes the production feel fresh,
West Side Story
7 / 10
The idea that a musical as brilliant as 'West Side Story' would require reinventing seems a bit dubious, and the doubts are confirmed by the new Broadway revival. Reconceived and staged by its original book writer Arthur Laurents to achieve a new level of grittiness, this production features a lot of tweaks -- most notably the use of Spanish for two of the songs and some of the dialogue -- that don't add appreciably to its impact. And unlike the 91-year-old Laurents' recent smash revival of 'Gypsy,' this production is further undercut by some significant deficiencies in the staging and performances.
Category
West Side Story History
Other Productions of West Side Story
| 1957 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 1958 | West End |
London Production West End |
| 1959 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 1960 | Broadway |
Return Engagement [Broadway] Broadway |
| 1964 | Broadway |
City Center Revival Broadway |
| 1968 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 1980 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 1991 | Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
Paper Mill Production Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
| 1992 | Regional (UK) |
Regional Revival Regional (UK) |
| 1998 | West End |
London Revival West End |
| 2006 | Houston, TX (Regional) |
Theatre Under the Stars Production Houston, TX (Regional) |
| 2009 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
| 2010 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 2015 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Signature Theatre Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
| 2018 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
National Symphony Orchestra Concert Revival Washington, DC (Regional) |
| 2018 | Regional (US) |
100th Birthday Celebration Revival Production Regional (US) |
| 2020 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
West Side Story - 2009 Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Karen Olivo |
| 2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Karen Olivo |
| 2009 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musica | Pal Joey |
| 2009 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Matt Cavenaugh |
| 2009 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Josefina Scaglione |
| 2009 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Arthur Laurents |
| 2009 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Karen Olivo |
| 2009 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | 0 |
| 2009 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | Josefina Scaglione |
| 2009 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Howell Binkley |
| 2009 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Karen Olivo |
| 2009 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Josefina Scaglione |
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