Current track

Title

Artist


Lyric Opera Brings A Fresh New Energy to Their Chicago Production of “West Side Story”

Written by on May 24, 2019

West Side Story PRT

Lyric Opera Chicago “West Side Story” Dress Rehearsal © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2019

With a cast of nearly 100 artists and musicians, the Lyric’s production of “West Side Story” brings new energy and scale to the iconic musical that transports Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet to the back streets of New York City.

Over a hundred thousand people have already seen “West Side Story” since it opened earlier in the month at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, and there’s still time to catch the immensely popular show between now and June 2.

Jill Hopkins sat down with two of the amazing cast members, Amanda Castro (Anita) and Manuel Stark Santos (Bernardo), to talk changing roles, what it means to have Puerto Rican actors cast to play the Sharks and the racial dynamics of the play.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.


More from Vocalo: