West Side Story
Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins, Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins; Choreography Reproduced by Joey McKneely, Directed by David Saint, Broadway Production Directed by Arthur Laurents; Music Director, John O'Neill; Scenic Design, James Youmans; Costume Design, David C. Woolard; Lighting Design, Howell Binkley; Sound Design, Dan Moses Schreier; Translations, Lin-Manuel Miranda
Starring: Kyle Harris, Ali Ewoldt, Michelle Aravena, Joseph J. Simeone, German Santiago; With: Mike Boland, Ryan Christopher Chotto, Stephen DeRosa, Drew Foster, Alexandra Frohlinger, Jay Garcia, Grant Gustin, Nathan Keen, Christopher Patrick Mullen, John O'Creagh, Kyle Robinson, Cary Tedder
Performances through July 9 at The Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston, MA (Box Office hours Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm); Ticketmaster 1-800-982-2787 or www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Boston
It is impossible to write about West Side Story, one of the greatest Broadway musicals ever conceived, without a giant helping of superlatives. The 1957 groundbreaking original production, which played 732 performances on Broadway, was a collaboration among arguably four of the greatest talents from the annals of musical theatre: Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and Jerome Robbins (concept, director, choreographer). As much as Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern's Show Boat, and Richard Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! were deemed revolutionary in their time, West Side Story redefined the art form of the American musical theatre as the first show in which the choreography was integral to the narrative, the dance steps and movements propelling the story in equal measure to the dialogue and songs.
In 2009, nonagenarian Laurents (deceased May 5, 2011) directed a new Broadway production of West Side Story that enjoyed a run of 748 performances, making it the longest-running production of WSS in history. The highly anticipated national tour of the smash hit revival, under the direction of Cape Cod native David Saint, opened at Boston's Colonial Theatre on June 15 for a four-week engagement. This fresh iteration infuses the beloved classic with a twenty-first century sensibility, adding more grit and fulfilling Laurents' desire to make the show much tougher. Before a note is played by the orchestra, Riff, the leader of the Jets, stands downstage glaring at the audience. Other members of his gang silently trickle into a phalanx behind him, taking a similarly intimidating stance. After a moment, Riff snaps his fingers signaling the start of the Prologue with its expressive dance routine. And the spell has been cast.
