West Side Story Broadway Revival Pegged For 2008-2009 Season
Playbill reports that a Broadway revival of West Side Story is planned for arrival on February 2009, directed by its librettist Arthur Laurents.
The production will feature the musical's original choreography, overseen by Joey McKneely, with musical direction by Patrick Vaccariello. Laurents has stated that otherwise the production will be "radically different from any production ever done and contemporary to boot."
The revival will get a trial run in Washington DC at the National Theatre before coming to Broadway. The DC run will play from December 2, 2008 to January 4, 2009.
Laurents is currently enjoying the limelight with the Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring Patti LuPone, which began previews this past week. His past work also includes Anyone Can Whistle, Hallelujah, Baby!, The Time of the Cuckoo, Jolson Sings Again, and 2 Lives. Laurents is also the original director for La Cage Aux Folles and garnered a Tony Award for best direction.
West Side Story originally opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway on September 26, 1957 and closed on June 27, 1959. The musical featured music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (as well as a book by Laurents). The production was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and has been revived three times on Broadway, in 1960, 1964, and 1980.
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