The reviews are in for West Side Story, which opened February 20 at the Broadway Theatre. Ivo van Hove’s re-imagining of the musical stars Shereen Pimentel as Maria, Isaac Powell as Tony, Yesenia Ayala as Anita, and Amar Ramasar as Bernardo.
Directed by van Hove and choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, the musical features 33 company members making their Broadway debut, including Dharon E. Jones as Riff, Matthew Johnson as Baby John, Elijah A. Carter as Action, and Zuri Noelle Ford as Anybodys.
The production marks the first major New York staging of the Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents musical to stray from original director Jerome Robbins' recognizable aesthetic.
Read what the critics had to say below.
Broadway Journal (Philip Boroff)
Entertainment Weekly (Leah Greenblatt)
Financial Times (Max McGuinness)
The Hollywood Reporter (David Rooney)
The Los Angeles Times (Charles McNulty)
New York Daily News (Chris Jones)
New York Magazine/Vulture (Helen Shaw)
The New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
New York Stage Review (Elsya Gardner and Michael Sommers)
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)
The New York Times (Ben Brantley)
Rolling Stone (Jerry Portwood)
The Stage U.K. (Nicole Serratore)
Theatre News Online (Jeremy Gerard)
TimeOut New York (Adam Feldman)
The Wall Street Journal (Terry Teachout)
The Washington Post (Peter Marks)
Rounding out the company are ensemble members Alexa De Barr, Gabi Campo, Daniel Ching, Lorna Courtney, Marc Crousillat, Stephanie Crousillat, Roman Cruz, Israel Del Rosario, Jordan Dobson, Tyler Eisenreich, Armando Eleazar, Marlon Feliz, Satori Folkes-Stone, Constance François, Yesy Garcia, Carlos Gonzalez, Jennifer Gruener, Jarred Manista, Michaela Marfori, Ilda Mason, Michelle Mercedes, Mina Pinerom, Michael Seltzer, Corey John Snide, Sheldon True, Ricky Ubeda, Madison Vomastek, Tony Ward, Bridget Whitman, and Kevin Zambrano.
The Scott Rudin production features scenic and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld, choreography by, costumes by An D’Huys, sound design by Tom Gibbons, and video design by Luke Halls.