Romeo and Juliet Takes To The Streets of New York
Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's musical theatre tour-de-force West Side Story first captured the nation's hearts when it blazed onto the Great White Way during its 1957 original Broadway run, going on to become one of the most performed productions in American history. The Tony Award winning classic comprises of a sophisticated score filled with angular, jazz riffs, romantic lyricism and the melodrama of opera, as well as choreography that redefined modern ballet and solidified Robbins' status as a master of the craft.
Whilst adapting the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet isn't exactly revelatory, West Side Story set a new standard. Every flick of the wrist, bold step and rebellious click imbues the production with a searing originality that marks it as a must-watch-musical-theatre-experience. Set in the 50s, The Glimmerglass Festival, Houston Grand Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago' the fizzing, high energy co-production artfully tells the tale of star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony, who are caught between two warring street gangs in a blue-collar neighbourhood in New York's West Side. As tensions rise to boiling point, their love gets caught in the crossfire.