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WEST SIDE STORY Revival Will Not Include 'I Feel Pretty' and the 'Somewhere' Ballet
By: Stephi Wild Nov. 09, 2019
Ivo van Hove's reimagined West Side Story is coming to Broadway this season. In a new interview with Vogue, he has revealed some of the changes he has made, including cutting two iconic moments from the original production.
Two songs will be cut from the show, the "Somewhere" ballet, and "I Feel Pretty" which will make the show run one act, with no intermission. He also plans to use the film version of "America" rather than the original.
Van Hove said that he wants to shorten the piece to reflect the race against time, as the musical takes place over just 48 hours.
"I want to make a juggernaut," he says. "You feel that these people are running toward their death and there's no escape from it."
Van Hove has also revealed that he will utilize video to further captivate audiences.
"The biggest challenge will be to seduce them to follow our way of telling this story," he said.
Read more on Vogue.
West Side Story returns to Broadway in a new production directed by Tony Award winner Ivo van Hove; and for the first time ever in the United States, will feature all-new choreography by the internationally acclaimed Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. West Side Story will begin previews on December 10, 2019 and open February 6th, 2020 at the Broadway Theatre.
The production will star Isaac Powell and Shereen Pimentel as star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria. Also leading the cast will be Yesenia Ayala as Anita, Ben Cook as Riff, and Amar Ramasar as Bernardo. Both Cook and Ayala are set to appear in the Steven Spielberg-directed West Side Story film as well.
The company will also include Ahmad Simmons as Diesel, Danny Wolohan as Officer Krupke, Jacob Guzman as Chino, Kevin Csolak as A-Rab, Matthew Johnson as Baby John, Dharon E. Jones as Action, Zuri Noelle Ford as Anybodys, Daniel Oreskes as Doc, Pippa Pearthree as Glad Hand, Thomas Jay Ryan as Lt. Schrank, and an ensemble including Alexa De Barr, Daniel Ching, Gabi Campo, Gino Cosculluela, Marc Crousillat, Stephanie Crousillat, Roman Cruz, Tyler Eisenreich, Armando Eleazar, Marlon Feliz, Satori Folkes-Stone, Constance François, Carlos Gonzalez, Jennifer Gruener, Jarred Manista, Michaela Marfori, Michelle Mercedes, Michael Seltzer, Corey John Snide, Sheldon True, Ricky Ubeda, Madison Vomastek, Tony Ward, Bridget Whitman, and Kevin Zambrano.
