Broadway Across America

Buzz

Show Photos - West Side Story - 2/20 - Shereen Pimentel - Isaac Powell - Photo: Jan Versweyveld

Ivo van Hove’s West Side Story Revival Will Not Return to Broadway

August 9th, 2021 | By Lindsey Sullivan

The latest revival of West Side Story, directed by Tony winner Ivo van Hove and choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, will not reopen on Broadway. The production began previews on December 10, 2019 and officially opened on February 20, 2020 at the Broadway Theatre.

“It is with great regret that we are announcing today that the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story will not reopen. This difficult and painful decision comes after we have explored every possible path to a successful run, and unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, reopening is not a practical proposition," producer Kate Horton said in a statement. "We thank all the brilliant, creative artists who brought West Side Story to life at the Broadway Theatre, even for so brief a time, especially the extraordinary acting company, 33 of whom made their Broadway debuts in this production.”

The staging, notable for being the first time a U.S. production of West Side Story has not featured the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, stripped down the modern-day telling of Romeo & Juliet, with a projection-based design concept from van Hove's longtime collaborator Jan Versweyveld.

The cast featured Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, Yesenia Ayala as Anita, Amar Ramasar as Bernardo and Dharon E. Jones as Riff, Elijah A. Carter as Action, Ahmad Simmons as Diesel, Danny Wolohan as Officer Krupke, Jacob Guzman as Chino, Kevin Csolak as A-Rab, Daniel Oreskes as Doc, Pippa Pearthree as Glad Hand and Thomas Jay Ryan as Lt. Schrank, with Matthew Johnson as Baby John and Zuri Noelle Ford as Anybodys.

The ensemble included Alexa De Barr, Daniel Ching, Gabi Campo, Gino Cosculluela, Marc Crousillat, Stephanie Crousillat, Roman Cruz, Tyler Eisenreich, Armando Eleazar, Marlon Feliz, Satori Folkes-Stone, Constance François, Carlos Gonzalez, Jennifer Gruener, Jarred Manista, Michaela Marfori, Michelle Mercedes, Michael Seltzer, Corey John Snide, Sheldon True, Ricky Ubeda, Madison Vomastek, Tony Ward, Bridget Whitman and Kevin Zambrano.

In addition to lighting and scenic designer Versweyveld, the creative team included costume designer An d'Huys, sound designer Tom Gibbons, video designer Luke Halls and orchestrator by Jonathan Tunick. Alexander Gemignani was the production's music supervisor/musical director.

 

Read original article on broadway.com