Newcity Stage

Theater, Dance, Comedy and Performance in Chicago

Music Theater Works Captures the Majestic Scope of “West Side Story” This production of Leonard Bernstein’s classic goes big in every way, featuring tremendous singers and actors, fabulous costumes, explosive choreography and a nimble twenty-two-piece orchestra.

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by Mary Wisniewski
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A large cast performs a dramatic scene on stage with colorful lighting; two people stand center stage while dancers in white pose dynamically around them.

Music Theater Works’ “West Side Story”/Photo: Brett Beiner

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If you are going to do a complex musical like Leonard Bernstein’s 1957 classic “West Side Story,” you got to go big. You need good actors who can also handle challenging music. You need high-flying dancers. And you must have an orchestra that’s powerful and versatile enough to manage a mix of jazz, Latin rhythms, musical comedy and soaring, symphonic themes.

This is not a musical for half-measures.

Fortunately, Music Theater Works’ new production of “West Side Story” goes big in every way, with tremendous singers and actors, fabulous costumes, explosive choreography and a nimble twenty-two-piece orchestra, conducted by Justin Kono. Directed by Sasha Gerritson with musical direction by Linda Madonia and choreography by Isa Ramirez and Clayton Cross, this production captures the story’s humor, sadness and majestic scope.

Based on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents, the musical is set in the 1950s on what was then the poor, working-class Upper West Side of New York City. Instead of the Montagues and the Capulets, the deadly rivalry is between the Puerto Rican “Sharks” street gang and the white “Jets.” Puerto Rican Maria and Polish-American Tony fall in love, but their romance is imperiled by gang violence.

Isabella Ruano is an outstanding Maria—she has the vocal chops to handle the high notes in “Tonight” and “Somewhere,” but she’s also a gifted actress. Her Maria is innocent but not simpering. She is funny and full of joy, especially during “I Feel Pretty.” Ruano also has chemistry with Luke Nowakowski’s Tony, another excellent singer. As Tony, Nowakowski radiates hope and tenderness—the scene in which they play with dressmaker dummies shows what they could be as a couple, if the world were fair.

A group of nine actors stand in a dramatic pose on stage, dressed in casual 1950s-style clothing, with a chain-link fence and silhouettes of fire escapes in the background, resembling a scene from West Side Story..

Music Theater Works’ “West Side Story,” with Jordan Beyeler, Kevin Chlapecka, Nathaniel Urie, Albert Johnston, Elliott Hansen, Sterling Ford, Will Fischer and Jaxson Smith/Photo: Brett Beiner

Other standouts in the cast include Pauleth Jauregui as a fiery, passionate Anita (she led a great “America”), Emmanuel Ramirez as a proud, high-kicking Bernardo and Connor Ripperger as Riff, the leader of the Jets and Tony’s best friend (“womb to tomb, sperm to worm.”) Ripperger, who did great work in City Lit’s “Scaramouche” last spring and Musical Theater Works’ 2025 “Godspell,” is an interesting actor. His Riff is watchful and intelligent—snapping his fingers during the song “Cool,” one could imagine him as an Army general in another life.

Jaxson Smith was so funny as the quailing Baby John that it was a surprise when he showed off his beautiful tenor during “Somewhere,” along with MJ Bueno as Consuela. The ballet sequence that accompanied this song, with all the performers dressed in white, was one of the most moving parts of the show. Matt Rosin conveys the shop owner Doc’s good-hearted frustration, while Ivan James was good as the cynical and racist Lt. Schrank.

Co-choreographer Ramirez says in an interview on the Music Theater website that the dance numbers are inspired by Jerome Robbins’ original choreography, but use a “modern take.” Whatever that means, it works. This is a dance-centric production, with big movements that convey the emotions of youth—passion, impulsivity, violence and elation. The choreography matches Bernstein’s spiky, swinging music, which still seems so modern after almost seventy years.

A large group of performers in colorful costumes dance energetically on a decorated stage with a basketball hoop and festive bunting overhead.

Music Theater Works’ “West Side Story”/Photo: Brett Beiner

The theater projected Spanish supertitles for the lyrics. In program notes, Gerritson says the production embraces the “Puerto Rican heritage of the Sharks and the immigrant experience at the center of the piece.” The play is a reminder that we have always been a nation of immigrants, and that prejudice against outsiders is an old and destructive story.

At the show, I sat next to a woman with her daughter and son, aged about nine and seven. During the final scene, the girl burst into tears and sobbed into her mother’s shoulder, while the boy sat forward in his seat, eyes wide and sorrowful. I felt a little sorry for them, but mostly glad. They got to see a fine production of one of the best examples of American musical art, and they’ll never forget it.

“West Side Story”  is presented by Music Theater Works at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, through August 30.