Atlanta Lyric Theatre Regrets Non-Latino WEST SIDE STORY Casting

Atlanta Lyric Theatre's production of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' classic musical WEST SIDE STORY completed its run on June 26th, but four days later, the company posted a letter on its Facebook page stating that the theatre management and creative staff "initiated a meeting this week with members of the Atlanta Latino community to have an open and robust dialogue about race and its impact on actors and audiences."

The letter recounts how, although the company's intention was to cast all of the musical's Puerto Rican characters with Latino talent, "some roles in the show did not accurately reflect that ethnicity."

As stated in the full letter below, Atlanta Lyric Theatre admits that the company could have done more outreach to acquire appropriate actors and that moving forward, they will adhere to a policy of ethnically specific casting when the material calls for it.

Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Atlanta's only local professional musical theater company, was formed in 1980 by Tedi and Robert Langdon and Sally Knap as the Southeastern Savo yards, a repertory theatre company dedicated to presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. The company's first production, Gilbert & Sullivan's THE MIKADO, was performed at Emory University in December 1980. Later, the company's productions were moved to the Marist School, the 14th Street Playhouse, Center Stage Theater, and then to the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts on the campus of Georgia Tech where the company's main stage performances were produced for seventeen seasons.

Atlanta Lyric Theatre is dedicated to producing the best in musical theatre and fostering the growth of the Atlanta theatrical community by showcasing local professional talent. Through educational programs and pursuit of artistic excellence, The Lyric seeks to inform and expand the audience for musical theatre in the greater metropolitan area.

Visit atlantalyrictheatre.com.