Some Broadway favorites and rising stars will take the stage in the Lyric Opera of Chciago's upcoming presentation of West Side Story. The Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents musical will run May 3 through June 2, with opening night set for May 4. Leading the cast will be Corey Cott (Bandstand, Newsies) as Tony and Mikaela Bennett (BBC Proms' West Side Story, Encores!' The Golden Apple) as Maria.
Among those joining the pair are Amanda Castro (West Side Story at Glimmerglass) as Anita, Manuel Stark Santos (Aladdin) as Bernardo, and Brett Thiele (Miss Saigon) as Riff. Additional casting will be announced later.
Francesca Zambello helms the staging—a co-production with Glimmerglass Festival (where she serves as artistic director) and Houston Grand Opera. The production features sets by Peter J. Davidson, costumes by Jessica Jahn, and lighting design by Mark McCullough. Julo Monge will recreate Jerome Robbins' choreography.
The musical heads to Chicago ahead of two additional high-profile takes on the title: a new film adaptation from Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner (featuring the original film's Oscar-winning Rita Moreno) and a 2020 Broadway revival directed by Ivo van Hove (currently represented on Broadway with Network).
