Review Roundup: Signature Theatre's WEST SIDE STORY!

Signature Theatre's WEST SIDE STORY, directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature's Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret), recently announced a one-week extension through January 31, 2016. The show is currently running in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre. The musical, a collaboration of music, dance and theater giants Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents, is considered by some to be one of the greatest musicals of all time.

The production stars MaryJoanna Grisso (WEST SIDE STORY, US National Tour) as Maria, Austin Colby(Signature's Simply Sondheim, Sound of Music, US National Tour) as Tony, Sean Ewing (Broadway's WEST SIDE STORY, Amazing Grace) as Bernardo and Max Clayton (Broadway's On the Town, Gigi) as Riff. Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz (Signature's The Threepenny Opera, St. Louis MUNY's WEST SIDE STORY) returns to the role of Anita. Diaz was previously heralded as "a worthy successor to Chita Rivera" by the Los Angeles Times.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Pamela Roberts, BroadwayWorld: Director Matthew Gardiner puts the music and dance at the fore inSignature Theatre's WEST SIDE STORY. Dancing is quite literally "in your face" with the audience pressing in on three sides, incredibly close to each forceful lunge, turn and kick. There's no opportunity here to fake it or phone it in. With up to 30 cast members in the larger production numbers, the song and dance overflows the thrust stage and spills onto gritty elevated catwalks. Parker Esse's choreography based on Jerome Robbins' original Tony Award-winning 1957 work emphasizes the great power and athleticism of the cast. The dance choreography merges effectively with Casey Kaleba's fight choreography in the many tense altercations between the Sharks and Jets. This fused purpose is illustrated spectacularly in the first few minutes of the production with a brawl that involves Action (Ryan Fitzgerald) hurling himself through the air in a near swan dive at Pepe (Ryan Sellers) - a move that involved masterful timing and a whole lot of trust.

Charles Shubow, BroadwayWorld: The amazing Grisso returns to the pivotal role of "Maria" from Broadway and is just plain wonderful. Also from the Broadway WSS comes the terrific Sean Ewing as "Bernardo", the leader of the "Sharks". Leading the "Jets" is Max Clayton who shines as "Riff". There is the astonishing Natascia Diaz as "Anita", Bernardo's girlfriend, who seems to have been born to play the part. Wait till you see her dance in "Dance at the Gym", lead the iconic "America" where she shows her comedic talents, and her moving duet with Grisso in "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love". Playing the crucial role of "Tony" or "Anton" is Austin Colby. Wait till you hear him sing the anthem "Something's Coming", "Maria", "The Balcony Scene" with Grisso, their marvelous rendition of "One Hand, One Hear", and their "Finale" together which literally brought tears to my eyes.

Peter Marks, Washington Post: The perfect Tony. A Maria of pure enchantment. So, yes, it's truly love at first sight in director Matthew Gardiner's riveting new "West Side Story" - and not just for that star-crossed pair. Buoyed further by the mesmerizing Natascia Diaz as Anita, and a dancing ensemble that leaps as if the streets of Manhattan were up in the clouds, the production ensures that we once again fall deeply under this musical's potent spell.

David Siegel, Matthew Gardiner puts the music and dance at the fore in Signature Theatre's WEST SIDE STORY. Dancing is quite literally "in your face" with the audience pressing in on three sides, incredibly close to each forceful lunge, turn and kick. There's no opportunity here to fake it or phone it in. With up to 30 cast members in the larger production numbers, the song and dance overflows the thrust stage and spills onto gritty elevated catwalks. Parker Esse's choreography based on Jerome Robbins' original Tony Award-winning 1957 work emphasizes the great power and athleticism of the cast. The dance choreography merges effectively with Casey Kaleba's fight choreography in the many tense altercations between the Sharks and Jets. This fused purpose is illustrated spectacularly in the first few minutes of the production with a brawl that involves Action (Ryan Fitzgerald) hurling himself through the air in a near swan dive at Pepe (Ryan Sellers) - a move that involved masterful timing and a whole lot of trust." target="_blank">DC Metro Theater Arts: Let yourself fall in love again or for the first time with West Side Story. From the first note of the orchestra's prologue, then quickly met with the syncopated cool snaps of fingers under shadowy light; Matthew Gardiner's confidently vigorous touch guides Signature Theatre's West Side Story into a burst of dance, a boil of music and fully spirited characters that together are solidly physical and irresistible.

Jeffrey Walker, DC Theatre Scene: This triumphant take on the tragic romance that crosses cultural lines is directed by Signature's own associate artistic director Matthew Gardiner, our local wunderkind who continues to grow as a director with every production. Placing West Side Story in a thrust-like staging places the storytelling front and center. The audience is never but a few feet from the action and some are inches away, as the Sharks and Jets zoom their way across the metal scaffolding, representing the fire escapes, and back allies of their Manhattan turf over which they battle.

Photo Credit: Christopher Mueller

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