About the Show
Cast:
Kyle Harris as Tony
Ali Ewoldt as Maria
Michelle Aravena as Anita
Joseph J. Simeone as Riff
German Santiago as Bernardo
Mike Boland as Krupke
Ryan Christopher Chotto as A-rab
Stephen DeRosa as Glad Hand
Drew Foster as Action
Alexandra Frohlinger as Anybodys
Jay Garcia as Chino
Grant Gustin as Baby John
Nathan Keen as Big Deal
Christopher Patrick Mullen as Schrank
John O'Creagh as Doc
Kyle Robinson as Diesel
Cary Tedder as Snowboy
Along with Lauren Boyd, Alicia Charles, Beth Crandall, Dean Andre de Luna, Ted Ely, Lori Ann Ferreri, Ryan Ghysels, Tim Hausmann, Dea Julien, Daniel Kermidas, Kristen Paulicelli, Christie Portera, Erika Santillana, Kevin Santos, Michael Scirrotto, Jeffrey C. Sousa, Jessica Swesey, Kathryn Lin Terza and Kirstin Tucker
Creative team:
Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway direction will be recreated for the tour by David Saint, the Associate Director on Broadway
The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life)
Scenic designs by James Youmans (Gypsy)
Costumes by Tony Award nominee David C. Woolard (The Farnsworth Invention, The Who's Tommy)
Lighting by Tony Award winner Howell Binkley (Gypsy, Jersey Boys)
Sound design by Tony Award nominee Dan Moses Schreier (Gypsy, A Catered Affair)
Hair by Mark Adam Rampmeyer (The Farnsworth Invention)
Arthur Laurents (book)
Leonard Bernstein (music)
Stephen Sondheim (lyrics)
A note from the producers of West Side Story regarding the use of Spanish:
Arthur Laurents (Director of the Broadway revival) believed, and we enthusiastically agreed, that allowing the Sharks to express themselves in the way they would actually talk, mixing English with Spanish, would empower them as characters and result in deeper emotional impact for the audience. We were also attempting to “equalize” the Sharks with the Jets. In so many productions of West Side Story, the Jets seem like the heroes. We felt that giving the Sharks their language would level the playing field.
An equally important part of Arthur’s vision was to pull the show out of the 1950s and set it in no specific time period. This included removing any language that securely placed it in the 50s. Having the Puerto Rican characters sometimes mix English and Spanish reflects the sounds of New York City today. As a result, the timeless universality of the show is felt as powerfully and with as much relevance now as when it was first written.
The tour employs the same script as the current Broadway production. In Act 1, there are a number of lines expressed in Spanish. In Act 2, “I Feel Pretty” and “A Boy Like That” are both about 50/50 English-Spanish. In summary, about 12% of the spoken and/or sung words of this West Side Story are in Spanish and 88% are in English. This production is largely English.
From the outset the use of Spanish was an experiment. The creation of a show, even a classic revival, is a fluid process and we are particularly gratified to be working with creators who explore new ways to express their work. We believe that we have found an ideal balance that offers audiences the most authentic emotional expression of the piece while enhancing its universality.