In celebration of Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary, the Weill Music Institute (WMI) has launched The Somewhere Project, a citywide exploration of West Side Story. This extensive creative learning project is engaging people through events in all five boroughs of New York City, plus those outside the city through online content, all anchored by a large-scale production of West Side Story, the classic American musical based on a conception by Jerome Robbins, with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents.
Carnegie Hall's presentation of West Side Story, in three performances only
March 4, 5, and 6, 2016, will take place at the Knockdown Center, a restored 50,000 square foot former glass and door factory in Maspeth, Queens, now serving as an art and event space. The musical will star
Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening original cast on Broadway, the films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2) as Tony, Morgan Hernandez, an 18-year-old phenom making her New York debut as Maria, and Bianca Marroquín (Chicago, In The Heights, The Pajama Game on Broadway) as Anita.
Conceived as an immersive celebration of community and connection, this production of West Side Story is directed by
Amanda Dehnert, and
Marin Alsop, a protégé of
Leonard Bernstein's, will serve as musical director and conductor, with professional artists in lead roles and the participation of 200 high school students from around the city both in the cast and in a chorus specially created for this presentation.
"With The Somewhere Project and West Side Story," said director
Amanda Dehnert, "we're looking to really focus on the voices of the next generation and what they might have to say about the New York that they want to live in. In order to really do West Side Story justice, you want to produce it in this city. You want to be in this city where the people of New York can see the story, can talk about the story, and can hopefully be motivated to make change in their own communities based on what the story tells us. I hope that our production and the song 'Somewhere' can be a lightning rod for people to think about making a world that has a little less pain in it, and more hope."
Musical director and conductor
Marin Alsop said, "The themes and the moral of the story-youth and independence, and wanting to be your own person and make your own decisions, but being hampered by conflict and prejudice-are what really resonate with us, even today. There are so many things that resonate so sadly with us right in this very moment of history. I think we have the chance to have an open dialogue about these issues. This project is so compelling for me and feels so close to my heart because it brings together my adoration and love for this man,
Leonard Bernstein, with this idea that story and music can change the world."
A two-part public forum on West Side Story will take place in
Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing on
January 24. Panel discussions explore the ways in which West Side Story illuminates social issues in both 1950s and present day New York and how social issues can be addressed through the arts.
Also leading up to the performances, the Weill Music Institute will support the creation of new songs by students and community members, each inspired by the themes of West Side Story. This original music, created by participants in WMI programs and workshops, will be featured in free
Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts in all five boroughs throughout the month of February.
The Somewhere Project extends throughout New York City with the participation of
partner arts organizations and community groups. New works created through these partnerships across all artistic disciplines will be shared online and at events throughout the city.
Some of this new work created in WMI workshops and partner events will be exhibited on site at the Knockdown Center prior to the West Side Story performances. Experiencing West Side Story as a celebration of community and music will encourage artists and audiences alike to consider the work's timeless themes, inviting all to embrace the vision of New York City as a "place for us."
Those outside New York City can participate too, through online content, including a free
companion course about the history and social issues that inspired West Side Story and through social media via #SomewhereProject, collected online at
carnegiehall.org/SomewhereProject/Gallery.
Click here for a complete guide to events.
WEST SIDE STORY PERFORMANCES
Carnegie Hall's presentation of West Side Story will take place on Friday, March 4 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Knockdown Center, a restored 50,000 square foot former glass and door factory in Maspeth, Queens, built in 1903 and now serving as an art and event space.
"We're doing a production that is outside of anyone's normal theatrical expectations," said director
Amanda Dehnert. "You're going to get on a train, you're going to take a journey, you're going to go into a strange and exciting place, you're going to sit in seats that you don't expect to be sitting in with people that you don't usually sit next to in a theater, and that journey is going to change who you are."
The immersive experience begins before the production itself, with local food, live pre-show music, and artwork by New York City youth, all created as part of The Somewhere Project. The open performance area has no masking-no barriers between audience, the performers, and the orchestra. The space also projects this block-party energy throughout the audience via tables and chairs and bleacher seating.
West Side Story will star
Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening original cast on Broadway, the films Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2, and the upcoming Epix TV series Graves) as Tony, Bianca Marroquín (Chicago, In The Heights, The Pajama Game on Broadway) as Anita, and Morgan Hernandez, an 18-year-old phenom currently studying at The Boston Conservatory who will make her New York debut as Maria. Additional cast is to be announced.
The performances will feature the participation of approximately 200 New York City high school students from 32 schools in all five boroughs, both in the cast and in a chorus, performing songs in new choral arrangements specially arranged for this production by
Thomas Cabaniss, as West Side Story has no parts for chorus.
In addition to director
Amanda Dehnert and musical director and conductor
Marin Alsop, the production team will include choreographers
Julio Monge (Fosse,
Jerome Robbins' Broadway) and
Sean Cheesman (So You Think You Can Dance), musical supervisor
Leslie Stifelman (Chicago), scenic designer
Eugene Lee (Wicked, Saturday Night Live), costume designer
Tracy Christensen (Sweeney Todd and Company at the
New York Philharmonic), lighting designer
Edward Pierce (Amazing Grace, Wicked), sound designer
Nevin Steinberg (Hamilton, It Shoulda Been You), technical director
David Benken (Aladdin, The Lion King), and casting by Stewart/Whitley (On The Town, Pippin).
Tickets, priced $25 to $65, are available at the
Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at
212-247-7800 or by visiting the
Carnegie Hall website,
carnegiehall.org.
Inspired by
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the beloved American theater classic West Side Story resonates as strongly today as it did when it was written in 1957. The collaboration between choreographer
Jerome Robbins, composer
Leonard Bernstein, writer
Arthur Laurents, and lyricist
Stephen Sondheim produced a timeless tale of rival street gangs and forbidden love in 1950s New York with music that has been performed and recorded by major orchestras and artists around the world, also inspiring an Academy Award-winning motion picture in 1961.
PUBLIC FORUM
On Sunday, January 24 at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., arts and cultural leaders will explore the powerful social issues raised by West Side Story and the role of the arts in social change as part of a thought-provoking two-part forum in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing.
Composer
Thomas Cabaniss moderates the two panel discussions, which will explore the social issues in 1950s New York and the ways in which West Side Story illuminates them (1:00) and how social issues can be addressed through the arts (4:00). The first discussion will feature a brief performance from West Side Story, and the second will feature original songs created by New York City community members as part of The Somewhere Project songwriting workshops.
Participants include director
Amanda Dehnert, music director and conductor
Marin Alsop, Carol Oja of Harvard University,
Jamie Bennett of ArtPlace America, Arlene Davila of New York University, and artist Yazmany Arboleda.
The event will be recorded on video for later distribution online.
Tickets, priced at $10 for each forum, are available at CarnegieCharge and
carnegiehall.org. Tickets are not available at the
Carnegie Hall Box Office.
ONLINE COMPANION COURSE
To support all facets of the project, Carnegie Hall has created The Somewhere Project: A West Side Story Companion, an eight-part interactive video course available to users around the globe free of charge. This new digital resource engages experts from across the arts and humanities spectrum in discussions about the history and context, social issues, music, choreography, and dramatic elements of West Side Story. The course also includes practical instructions from professionals on all facets of performance, including songwriting, dance, acting, audition preparation, as well as printable resources, discussion prompts, creative challenges, and suggested readings to encourage viewer participation. Developed by Carnegie Hall in partnership with Soundfly, an online music school that creates unique, free or low-cost music educational tools, the course serves both as reference material for Somewhere Project partners and participants in New York City as well as an accessible, evergreen resource for West Side Story fans around the world.
Access the course at
soundfly.com/WestSideStory.
SONGWRITING PROJECTS
In a range of musical residencies across New York City, young people and adults will create, perform, and produce original music inspired by the themes found in West Side Story and the song "Somewhere." These works will be then be celebrated with the public through performances featured on Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts in all five boroughs.
Through residencies in a variety of settings, people across New York City will be invited to explore their hopes, dreams, and realities through the question "What kind of city do you want for yourself and your community?" These projects take place in partnership with city agencies and stakeholders between October 2015 and January 2016 at:
- Public Schools - A set of residencies for students, in schools connected to the performances of West Side Story, as well as schools serving the city's vulnerable youth. In partnership with the NYC Department of Education and social service agencies.
- Juvenile Justice Settings - For young people in the justice system in non-secure placement as part of the city's Close to Home initiative. In partnership with the NYC Administration for Children's Services, NYC Department of Education, and social service agencies.
- Sing Sing Correctional Facility - Men at the maximum security prison participating in the year-round Musical Connections composition residency will create new works for The Somewhere Project, many written for mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who will perform selected songs in a concert at Sing Sing on December 18. In partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections.
- Young Mothers Support Program - Part of WMI's Lullaby Project, young mothers in foster care will write a personal lullaby for their baby, strengthening the bond between parent and child. This project will take place at Desales, a building run by The New York Foundling and the NYC Administration for Children's Services on Staten Island.
- Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing - Young people from across the city will attend workshops in the Education Wing. They will write songs, produce digital music, and learn about concert production as part of WMI's afterschool programming.
Roster artists leading these projects include: Brown Rice Family, Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band, Slavic Soul Party!, James Shipp, Matuto, Deidre Struck, Intikana, Circa '95, The Itty Biddies, Charles Burchell, and Thomas Cabaniss.
