Greats news for fans one of the most beloved musicals of all time. The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of West Side Story is coming to San Jose. The musical will open at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, January 17, 2012. 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).
The cast stars Ross Lekites as Tony, Evy Ortiz as Maria, Michelle Aravena as Anita, Drew Foster as Riff and German Santiago as Bernardo. Also featured are Mike Boland as Schrank, Stephen DeRosa as Glad Hand, Jon Drake as Action, Wally Dunn as Krupke, Alexandra Frohlinger as Anybodys, Jay Garcia as Chino, Casey Garvin as Diesel, Nathan Keen as Big Deal, Harris Milgrim as Snowboy, John O’Creagh as Doc, Christopher Rice as Baby John, Clay Thomson as A-rab, along with Karolina Blonski, Alicia Charles, Lauryn Ciardullo, Dean Andre de Luna, Lori Ann Ferreri, Ryan Ghysels, Tim Hausmann, Nicole Hellman, Laura Irion, Thayne Jasperson, Gizel Jimenez, Eric Anthony Johnson, Patrick Ortiz, Kristen Paulicelli, Christie Portera, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Alexandra Blake Redelico, Michael Scirrotto, Jeffrey C. Sousa, Dani Spieler, Jessica Swesey, Kathryn Lin Terza and Kirstin Tucker.
The new Broadway cast album of West Side Story won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album on January 31, 2010. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway’s finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere.”
The new Broadway production began previews at the Palace Theatre on Broadway Monday, February 23, 2009, opened to critical acclaim breaking box office records at the Palace Theatre on Thursday, March 19, 2009, and recouped its $14 million investment after running only 30 weeks. The Broadway production played its final performance January 2, 2011. The musical played 27 previews and 748 regular performances, making it the longest-running production of the groundbreaking musical in Broadway history. The original production, which had held the record, played 732 performances on Broadway.
The production features 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) and hair by Mark Adam Rampmeyer (The Farnsworth Invention).
West Side Story is written by three theatrical luminaries: two-time Tony Award winner Arthur Laurents (book) and multiple Tony and Grammy Award winners Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) in his Broadway debut.
Stark on the Arts: West Side Story
Tickets go on sale November 18, 2011 at the sjtix.com box office or by calling 408-792-4111 for more details. Tickets range in price from $82.00 to $20.00.
