West Side Story is a timeless classic, but despite six decades of history, you've never seen a production like this one. Under the direction of the innovative Ivo van Hove, the beloved story of star-crossed lovers and rival gangs takes on a more urgent and modern context. Featuring original choreography by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and a stage and video design by Jan Versweyveld, this West Side Story offers a radical, thrilling new interpretation of this iconic work, featuring 33 young performers making their Broadway debuts. Don't miss this opportunity to see a landmark in musical theater history as if for the very first time.
With scenic and lighting design by van Hove's longtime collaborator Jan Versweyveld, and video projections by Luke Halls that more than bolster the argument for finally giving that art its very own Tony Award category, this West Side Story fills the massive performing space at the Broadway Theatre with non-stop movement both on the stage and on the drive-in theater-size screen behind it. Small flourishes hold their own against grand visual statements: When Tony (Isaac Powell) and Maria (Shereen Pimentel) sing to one another as they lean against a mirror, their breath frosts the glass in momentary designs (a lovely detail we see courtesy of van Hove's trademark video cameras). When rain falls through much of the final act, the downpour, soaking the stage and beautifully lit by Versweyveld, creates a cinematic effect that only a dancer wary of slipping could begrudge.
I was hopeful when, in the production's opening moments, the gang members filed onto the front of the vast, empty stage and looked dead-eyed into the audience. You could imagine any of these able-bodied young brawlers being a deadly weapon all by himself. Then those big, projected close-ups begin. (Luke Halls did the video design.) And as the camera caresses each photogenic face, the men's tattoos start to look less like don't-mess-with-me emblems of tribal membership and more like fashion choices. We might have stumbled into a casting call for a Calvin Klein fragrance ad ('Rough - for the man who likes it that way'). Soon, they all start to sing and dance - and occasionally exchange dialogue that in this context sounds terminally quaint. And the impression is no longer of angry young things on the brink of catastrophic explosion.
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 |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Yesenia Ayala |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Jonathan Tunick |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Projection Design | Luke Halls |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | West Side Story |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical | Tom Gibbons |
2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Isaac Powell |
2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | West Side Story |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Isaac Powell |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Shereen Pimentel |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Ivo van Hove |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Projection Design | Luke Halls |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | West Side Story |
Videos