West Side Story

There are few other theatrical pieces that can boast of a more fantastic creative team. West Side Story is a masterpiece that was conceived by Jerome Robbins. He went on to assemble a creative team consisting of writer Arthur Laurents, composer Leonard Bernstein, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. The play was wildly successful when it was first released in 1957 on the Broadway stage, running for 732 performances and being nominated for six Tony Awards. The play maintains a dark theme with loads of complex and occasionally dissonant music by Bernstein. The score includes brilliant compositions such as ‘Tonight’, America’, ‘I Feel Pretty’, and ‘Something’s Coming’. The show set to run at the Melbourne Arts Centre is directed by two-time Tony nominee Joey McKneely and features Todd Jacobsson and Sophie Salvesani in the lead roles.

The Story

Set in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City in the 1950s, before it was cleared to make space for the Lincoln Center, West Side Story follows two opposing factions with different ideologies. The Jets are a ‘white gang’ who tirelessly harass the Sharks, a gang consisting of members from various ethnicities. When Tony, a member of the Jets and close cohort of the Jets’ leader Riff, falls in love with a Sharks girl named Maria, the situation begins to get complicated. Will their love stand the test of time? How will they deal with the sizzling rivalry between their gangs? Watch this fabulous retelling of Jerome Robbins’ thoroughly engaging tale at the Melbourne Arts Centre and find out!

Good For

Fans of Romance | Fans of Musicals

Critics Reviews

“Leonard Bernstein's beloved all-singing, all-dancing New York masterpiece is back in Melbourne ”
– Timeout