A tragic love story and cautionary tale of intolerance

For a professional theater experience in Chicago you can’t do much better than the Lyric opera production of West Side Story. This Leonard Bernstein / Stephen Sondheim musical deemed cutting edge and somewhat avantgarde when first introduced is now a classic.

West Side Story leans more toward opera as the story is told primarily through song, so this venue is a natural. Many of the musical numbers such as Maria, Tonight, and One Hand One Heart have found their way into the Great American Songbook.

The set design of Peter J. Davison, featuring the iconic fire escape, towers over the audience while the Lyric’s massive Civic Opera House stage gives the dancers ample room to move.

Listen to the entire podcast review with commentary to learn more about this important work in general as well as specifics about this specific production.

Details: West Side Story at the Civic Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, runs through June 25, 2023. Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. For tickets and information visit LyricOpera.org

West Side Story is based on a conception of Jerome Robbins with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Original production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
Originally produced on Broadway by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince.

Lyric Opera Chicago cast member are: 
Tony- Ryan McCartan
Maria- Kanisha Feliciano
Anita- Amanda Castro
The Jets
Riff- Brett Thiele
Action- Nathan Keen
A-Rab- Kyle Coffman
Baby John- Maurice Dawkins
Big Deal- Matthew Aaron Liotine
Diesel- Thomas Sutter
Snowboy- Steven Blandino
Gee-Tar- Michael Francis McBride
Tiger- Michael Olaribigbe
Jet Girls
Graziella- Laura Savage
Velma- Paige Fraser
Minnie- Whitney Cooper
Clarice Morgan- McDaniel
Pauline- Julia Fleckenstein
Anybodys- Ayden Pratt
The Sharks
Bernardo- Yurel Echezarreta
Chino-Mark Daniel Aguirre
Pepe- Joseph A. Hernandez
Indio- Jorge Guerra
Luis-Alex Aponte
Anxious- Dean De Luna
Nibbles- Andres Acosta
Juano- Martin Ortiz Tapia
Toro- Henry Julián Gendron
Shark Girls
Rosalia- Joy Del Valle
Consuelo- Orianna Hilliard
Francisca- Abigail Paschke
Teresita- Natalia Nieves-Melchor
Estella- Kiana Rodriguez
Margarita- Monica Garcia Bradley
Adults
Doc- Genevieve VenJohnson
Lt. Schrank- Keith Kupferer
Officer Krupke- John Lister
Glad Hand – Lillian Castillo

Conductor James Lowe
Director Francesca Zambello
Set Designer Peter J. Davison
Costume Designer Jessica Jahn
Lighting Designer Mark McCullough
Sound Designer Mark Grey
Chorus Master Michael Black
Choreographer Jerome Robbins
Original Choreography Reproduced by Joshua Bergasse
Associate Choreographer Kiira Schmidt Carper
Dance Captain Whitney Cooper
Diction and Dialect Coach Sammi Grant
Sound Mixing Engineer Stephanie Farina