Broadway’s biggest musical West Side Story will be the next major production to arrive at the Royal Exchange this spring. Set in Manhattan in the 1950s, the Jerome Robbins-conceived and Arthur Laurents-penned story features music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim – two of Broadway’s biggest hitters – as it retells the classical story of Romeo and Juliet via the Jets and the Sharks, two rival New York gangs. Its leads, Tony and Maria, are played here by Andy Coxon and Gabriela Garcia. This seven-week production – directed by the Royal Exchange’s outgoing artistic director Sarah Frankcom – features new choreography by Aletta Collins and orchestration by Bernstein specialist Jason Carr. Frankcom and Collins previously collaborated on Sweet Charity in 2016/17, while Frankcom directed another hit musical, Guys and Dolls, at the Exchange in 2017/18. Half-price previews take place on 6, 8, 9 and 10 April.
Sat 6 Apr – Sat 25 May, Royal Exchange Theatre, Saint Ann’s Square, Manchester, M2 7DH, Tel: 0161 833 9833, 7.30pm (plus some 2.30pm matinees), from £25, www.royalexchange.co.uk
- Words:
- Chris Horkan
- Published on:
- Sat 20 Apr 2019
