Areas We Cover
Categories
Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (Los Angeles Opera)
by Tony Frankel | September 20, 2025
in Los Angeles, Theater
WEST SIDE SNORING
Astoundingly unsatisfying, LA Opera’s many-headed Hydra production of West Side Story, directed with no sense of urgency by Francesca Zambello, opened tonight to a crowd largely made up of donors and subscribers dressed to the nines. Oddly cast, oddly acted, and oddly staged, my head was reeling at the amount of money and effort that went into this revival, a co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Opera, and Glimmerglass Festival. I can’t speak personally to the productions already produced by these estimable companies, although I heard wonderful things about them, but this outing speaks to Los Angeles theatre as a whole, which just can’t seem to get its shit together.
JT Church, Yurel Echezarreta (Bernardo) and Juan Miguel Posada
What does succeed on stage at at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is the musical itself, with some lovely renditions of unimprovable songs, a gorgeous set by Peter J. Davison, and some very good dancing (although the mostly original choreography by Jerome Robbins is shakily reproduced here by Joshua Bergasse, who allows his dancers to attack the balletic moves). Above all, though West Side Story premiered in 1957, it still feels surprisingly contemporary almost seventy years later. Partly this comes from the timelessness of the Shakespearean source material. There is also the creative dream team of Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, who transposed Romeo and Juliet into a modern American musical masterpiece.
David Prottas as Action, Tom Virtue as Doc, Anna Bermudez (seated) as Anybodys
The sets evoke a mixture of tenements and mid-town Manhattan, with numerous rooftop water tanks looming in the distance and bare steel beneath the facades. A mid-section from the set piece stage right swivels open to reveal Maria’s bedroom. Doc’s Drugstore — appropriately rundown — and the gym with giant silver balloons glide on efficiently, although actors moving set pieces occasionally distracted. What’s strange is Jessica Jahn‘s costume design in a gallimaufry of dingy styles from many decades: some 50s pants and white tees, modern sportswear emblazoned with “New York” on them, distressed jeans, camouflage, hair weaves, tattoos — loudly indicating that gangs and violence and societal outcasts are timeless (also, on the wall of Maria’s room is a poster of Bad Bunny, and another of Sonia Sotomayor being sworn in. What universe are we in?!). West Side Story doesn’t need this kind of embellishment to be timeless. It’s a classic underestimation of the audience’s intelligence by not just presenting it in one period and letting the message resonate.
Duke Kim as Tony and Gabriella Reyes as Maria
But that’s nothing compared to the jaw-droppingly mismatched leads, both of whom are miscast and devoid of chemistry. As Tony, Korean tenor Duke Kim offers a soaring, sweet, strong, superlative rendition of “Maria” — a highlight of the show, but his acting is sophomoric. As Maria, powerful soprano Gabriella Reyes goes for a classic opera sound that is more appropriate for Wagner; her voice lacks the youthfulness and emotional range required for the part. Additionally (and there is no way to say this without the cancel culture dogs yapping at my feet), she has the large body of an operatic soprano doing Brünnhilde. So what are we to think when Tony says to Maria about his mama, “She’ll look at your face, try not to smile, and say… ‘Skinny, but pretty.'” To which Maria replies, “I take after my mama; delicate-boned.” Additionally, Bernardo calls Tony “… an American! Who’s really a Polack.” Ummmm… Look, I understand this is how the opera world casts because its the best voices they desire, but are you telling me of the thousands of actors who could play Tony and Maria, this is what Los Angeles gets? But this is less about looks and more about relatability: we just don’t buy them as a couple.
Julia Harnett as Consuelo, Rachel Josefina as Francisca, Gabriella Reyes as Maria and Daniella Castoria as Rosalia.
With bland direction — basically shuffling people around the stage — Andrew Kenneth Moss‘s subpar fight direction, and Sara E. Widzer‘s tepid intimacy direction, then we need great acting. Sure, the cast is chockful of athletic dancers and powerhouse singers, but there’s way too much musical comedy presentational delivery, the main reason the show lacks suspense. Aside from wooden or overblown portrayals, Amanda Castro as Anita tossed off some lines like a Borscht Belt comedian, which is forgivable given her solid turn with athletic dancing in “America,” and a feisty personality that extends to the back of the 3,200-seat house.
Amanda Castro (center) as Anita with the Shark Girls. Rachel Josefina (Francisca), Jordyn Waldo (Teresita), Amanda Castro (Anita), Julia Harnett (Consuelo) and Erin Gonzales (Estella)
Falling uncomfortably between an opera production and Broadway, clearly there are moments to savor. But in the musical’s final scene — which still shocks — instead of having Tony’s body carried offstage, Maria looks up staring at us, with the rest of the cast joining suit, their faces reading, “Do you see? This is still happening today.” It’s the first time in dozens of viewings of West Side Story that I didn’t tear up. Opening its 40th season, LA opera is clearly going for some kind of safe inclusion, but I just kept thinking, “Who’s in charge?” Instead of elation, this outing just left me unmoved and mystified.
The Sharks: JT Church, Juan Miguel Posada, Mark Ibañez, Yurel Echezarreta, Nathan Bravo, Lester Gonzalez and Edgar Lopez
photos by Cory Weaver/LAO
The Jets: Jeremy Ward, Donald Sayre, David Prottas, P. Tucker Worley, Tristan McIntyre, Matt Dean, Grayden Mark Harrison, Peter Murphy and Arcadian Broad
West Side Story
LA Opera
a co-production of Lyric Opera of Chicago,
Houston Grand Opera and Glimmerglass Festival
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 North Grand Ave.
2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission
ends on October 12, 2025
for tickets, call 213. 972.8001 or visit LA Opera
for more shows, visit Theatre in LA
Perfectly written. I was confounded by the choices made and left at halftime Saturday night, shaking my head.
What a waste.
Ah yes, the classic “opera singers should look like Instagram models” take — as if West Side Story’s tragedy hinges on Maria’s dress size and Tony’s whiteness. Also wild to clutch pearls over a Bad Bunny poster when the whole point of the show is that its themes still resonate today. The music may be timeless, but the review reads like it’s stuck in 1957. Boomer critics really do love mistaking their own nostalgia for expertise.
Wow, what a classy review – nothing like some good old fashion body shaming.
Also, for over a hundred years Cio-Cio-San has been played by white singers in opera houses around the world, but a Korean man playing a Polack is where we draw the line?
I agree with most of this. At intermission now, happen to be at Conlon’s 500th performance with LA Opera. Unfortunately the demographics of the audience do not deserve to be at this milestone performance for Conlon. Typical Pantages crowd. Some laugh excessively or in moments that aren’t funny (a woman behind me laughed when Tony yelled “Maria” after stabbing Bernardo), and no one has the patience to let the orchestra finish the number to the “button” but instead roar into applause when someone is almost done singing. They even applauded during the money note of “Maria.” Proper theatre etiquette is dying.
Well, she might FEEL pretty…
Thanks to your less than rave review I went into Dot’s Place (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion) last Thursday with my satisfaction expectation meter set on negative 10. The good thing about starting so low is that there is no place to go but up and in the end I enjoyed the show. Yes Maria is a big girl but she’s hardly elephantine and this is the opera after all! When was the last time you saw a Turandot, Salome or Carmen who wasn’t build to storm the castle instead of oozing sex and eliciting wanton lust. Of course not deciding to cut the line: “Skinny, but pretty,” to which Maria replies, “I take after my mama; delicate-boned” was probably a misstep. As was referring to the very Korean Tony as a “Polack!” We do have eyes! However, personal stature aside, what they lacked in chemistry and romantic tension was more than made up for by their beautiful voices. Then of course there is the music which is simply one spectacular number after the next. And the dancing didn’t disappoint either. One of the biggest problems I have had with the many renditions of West Side Story that I have sat through over the years is that the Sharks and the Jets always seem to be more suited to plotting a pillow fight instead of a knife fight. While none of this productions cast is likely to be confused with an MMA fighter, at least they possess sufficient masculinity to be convincing… especially considering all the twirling, high-kicking and tour jete-ing going on! The set is massive and with the exception of the transitions into and out of Docs, which are very clunky, keeps the production moving. The direction was anything but riveting but still serviceable. With all the slang and vernacular of the day sounding just plain silly, the book can be a tough sell. Unlike you, I actually liked the staging of the ending. Having the entire cast on stage frozen in a shadowy zombie-esque stupor around Maria and the dearly departed Tony was powerful image. I will admit however I was dry-eyed at the end, and I can usually get the waterworks flowing at the drop of a hat. I was moved but not moved to tears… could be because having seen the show at least a dozen times the emotional wallop was diminished… I knew what was coming and I was mostly thinking about getting out of the parking lot.
Tony’s spot on here. The story is pointedly about racism: whites vs. Latinos, specifically Puerto Ricans. In the script, Tony is described as a Polish American. It was wrong and insulting.
And when Tony calls Maria skinny, it felt downright cruel. This isn’t a farce where they could break the fourth wall and wink at the audience.
And don’t tell me about past grievances. As the old saw goes, two wrongs don’t make a right. I get that everyone wants to see themselves represented, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the show.
Still, the first act moved me. But the second act was DOA. I wasn’t moved at all, not even by the anthemic “Somewhere.” And “Gee, Officer Krupke” just laid flat, devoid of any humor.
I can only imagine how the acerbic Laurents would have reacted to this abomination. (You know, the book writer whose 2009 revival strove for authentic casting of the Sharks and even incorporated Spanish.)
The only other production that I’ve seen of WSS was years ago at the Pantages. it was one of those lame B-level bus-and-truck shows that land there with regularity. This was on a (sub)par with that production.
If anything, Tony’s review understates how mindless this production is. Diversity in casting is great, except when it contradicts the text or biology. Color-blind casting makes no sense here. Those cheering that a Korean was cast to play the “Polack” would howl holy hell should non-Latinos get cast as the Puerto Ricans. We know this is true, because that’s what happened when LA Opera brought Anthony Roth Costanzo for Akhnaten in 2016. West Side Story is about racism, but this group of Jets allows interracial relationships in their gang. How does this make sense?
So, now I’m supposed to ignore my lying eyes. Vocally, Kim and Reyes use their bulky, excessive, trained opera voices, even for dialogue scenes, clashing with the rest of the cast. Not for one second did I believe that they were reckless young people shooting into space.
LA Opera and Zambello did a terrific Candide and Porgy and Bess, and LAO under Conlon is usually pretty good at nailing the Broadway style, but this production feeds the idea of what I used to think was a misconception: that opera companies should never do Broadway musicals.
I agree with this review. In addition, neither Bernardo or Riff had any stage presence or charisma. America should have been staged as in the 1961 movie. This version stripped it of all the tough, gritty political content and made it into a fluffy, meaningless chick version. Example: they cut the lines Girls: “Things are all right in America” vs Boys: “If you’re all white in America!”. And at a time like this, not to include the political commentary is a disgrace. A lot of the staging was lackluster, and as the author said: Tony and Maria were horribly miscast. Maria’s operatic voice did not belong in this Broadway style production and her size was an issue. Theater requires the audience to buy into the reality being presented on stage and I doubt if anyone in the audience really thought that Tony and Maria belonged together. This was like a decent college production. It never should have been presented at the DC Pavilion.
Zambello’s staging was a head-scratcher of the highest order, a flat-footed display that ignored the ABCs of musical theater storytelling. And that supporting cast? Think non-equity bus-and-truck tour. With the budget LA Opera had, you’d expect a lineup of Broadway-caliber pros, not a bargain-bin ensemble.
Is it as bad as 2010’s Lohengrin? And there are dozens of good female singers who could play Maria.