Olivo on Medical Leave from WEST SIDE STORY; Cortez to Sub for 6-8 Weeks

The producers of WEST SIDE STORY announced today that Tony Award- winner Karen Olivo will be out of the Broadway musical as she sustained a broken foot at the 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, May 8. Ms. Olivo's doctors estimate that she will be out of the show for 6-8 weeks. In the interim WEST SIDE STORY cast member Natalie Cortez will take over the role of "Anita."

WEST SIDE STORY is directed by its two-time Tony Award winning librettist Arthur Laurents with the original Jerome Robbins choreography restaged by Tony Award nominee Joey McKneely. The cast of 48 stars Matthew Hydzik and Jeremy Jordan as "Tony," Josefina Scaglione as "Maria," John Arthur Greene as "Riff" and George Akram as "Bernardo."

The smash hit revival of WEST SIDE STORY celebrated its first anniversary on Friday, March 19, 2010, at Broadway's Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway) having begun previews Monday, February 23, 2009, and opened Thursday, March 19, 2009. Karen Olivo won a 2009 Tony Award for her performance as "Anita," and the new Broadway cast album won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. WEST SIDE STORY recouped its $14 million investment after running only 30 weeks (247 performances), and a touring production is set to tour North America beginning in the fall of 2010.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.