A 1957 Broadway production, a 1961 movie musical and a 2021 movie remake, Jerome Robbins’ and Steven Sondheim’s beloved “West Side Story” has captivated generations with its fusion of dance, theater and Shakespearean tragedy.
Now in 2025, the LA Opera asserts a contemporary definition of the timeless classic in front of a packed house for opening night on Sept. 20. Directed by the internationally recognized Francesca Zambello and led by the visionary conductor James Conlon in his 20th and final season with the LA Opera, “West Side Story” will take your breath away, equal parts tragic and dramatic, romantic and comedic.
The show opens with the thesis of the entire performance: two rival teenage street gangs in Manhattan fight over neighborhood dominance in true us-versus-them fashion. The Jets, white Americans who are self-deprecated as “cruddy juvenile delinquents,” openly showcase their xenophobic contempt toward the Sharks, teenage Puerto Rican Americans who recently migrated to New York City. LA Opera’s rendition of “West Side Story” argues less so of a fairly-titled rivalry and more so of an offensive Jets and a defensive Sharks.
P. Tucker Worley and Yurel Echezarreta stand out as the Jets and the Sharks’ leaders, Riff and Bernardo, respectively. Worley’s nonchalance oozes off the stage, while Echezarreta establishes a pride-based dynamism and power from his first line.
My favorite performance comes from Amanda Castro, who plays Anita, the leader of the Shark girls and Bernardo’s girlfriend. The unreckonable force that is Castro swept the opening-night, packed-house away. She is, at all times, poetic and fierce, vulnerable and strong.
Castro delivers an electric, weighty spectacle in the quintessential piece “America,” where she exemplifies witticism and explosive energy. She speaks with conviction and sings with unparalleled heart.
It takes a glance to fall in love with Castro as Anita.
From the very beginning, one of the show’s technical highlights emerges. The choreography and musicality of “West Side Story” slip together hand-in-hand. Sharp, playful and aesthetically informative, the dancing and orchestral ensemble engage each other and push the narrative along its course.
Emmy-winning and two-time Tony nominee Joshua Bergasse leads the choreography reproduction. Bergasse has worked on numerous Broadway and off-Broadway musicals, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “On the Town” and “Smash.”
Whether the bass shadows the Jets’ distinct finger-snaps or the percussive section hits right at a dramatic kick, Conlon’s orchestra plays as the audience’s best friend throughout the entire two-and-a-half-hour runtime.
Lighting acts as another prominent player in “West Side Story,” under the guidance of lighting designer Mark McCullough. The stage floods with a blue or red haze, depending on the power dynamics of the Jets and the Sharks. When the Jets outnumber the Sharks, the stage emits blue, and when the Sharks have the upper hand, the lights pulse a bold red.
As tensions rise between the Jets and the Sharks, Riff (Worley) decides enough is enough — “This turf is small, but it’s all we got!” — and decides to set up an all-out, winner-take-all rumble against the Sharks, planning to propose the fight to Bernardo at the dance.
At the dance — amid a purely delightful, choreographed routine — our main players meet. In her LA Opera debut, soprano Gabriella Reyes is Maria. Reyes brings a sweet softness to Maria, drawing the audience in with an innocent capability.
Meanwhile, tenor Duke Kim is Tony, the former leader of the Jets and Riff’s best friend. Kim enters his sophomore season with the opera company, returning to Dorothy Chandler Pavilion after his titular role in “Romeo and Juliet” during the 2024-2025 calendar.
If the ensemble is all assured passion and confidence, Reyes and Kim follow a wildly different dynamic. Timid and unsure, the two “West Side Story” leads embody all the hesitancy, sweetness and naivete of young love.
“We’re untouchable,” Tony tells Maria. “We have magic.”
I believed him — if only for a moment.
After watching a tense, pressure-cooker of a stage between the Jets and the Sharks for forty-five minutes, I was treated to a breath of air between Reyes and Kim. The gang conflict goes to the wayside as romantic, purple lighting (red and blue mixed — McCullough, you genius!) overwhelms the stage, and the orchestra is stripped back to an airy, slower framework.
The Jets-Sharks rumble scene explodes as one of the production’s most unforgettable scenes. Caged in a chain-linked-fenced ring, the conflict is artistic. Here, kicks, lunges, tumbles and falls are violence transfigured into dance. The orchestra punctuates each blow with percussive force. The dancers are athletes and artists altogether. All the physical and emotional beats hit inexplicably well.
Act Two unfolds swiftly underneath the weighty decisions of Act One. The innocent, lovey-dovey bubble is brutally punctured for Maria and Tony, who must deal with the aftermath of the Jets-Sharks fight.
The final scene is where Reyes shines the brightest, in Maria’s lowest moment. Reyes carries the audience and stage carefully through her notes, all the way through the conclusion. Her voice hangs beautifully in the air until the curtain falls.
This production treads the line between opera and Broadway, sometimes dissonant in genre. Still, it honors the source material, encompassing all the grit and immediacy of musical theater.
LA Opera’s “West Side Story” is a compelling must-watch. It suspends hope and heartbreak in the same air, and it is a performance that commands full attention. It will pull you into the West Side, into the characters’ hearts, and you won’t want to risk looking away.
“West Side Story” runs at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion until October 12. Student Rush tickets are available for $25 on the day of performances.