Overview
West Side Story was brought to audiences by the award-winning creative team who produced the run-away Fugard Theatre smash hits The Rocky Horror Show, Cabaret and most recently Funny Girl and hit opened to cortical and box office claim on the 23rd July 2015 before transferring to the Joburg theatre in 2017 and then returned to Artscape in 2018 for another sold-out run.
The tale is set in the Upper West Side neighbourhood in New York City in the mid-1950s. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two street gangs of different backgrounds. Tony, a former member of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The iconic music and the focus on social conflict marked a turning point in American musical theatre.
Details
First performance
23 July 2015
Final performance
22 April 2018
Venue
Artscape Opera House
(23 July–23 August 2015)
Joburg Theatre
(24 January–5 March 2017)
Artscape Opera House
(6 March–22 April 2018)
Original Cast
Jets
Tony
Jonathan Roxmouth
Action, Tony Understudy
Daniel Buys
Riff
Stephen Jubber
Graziella
Michèle La Trobe
Diesel, Male Dance Captain
Sven-Eric Müller
Velma
Delray Halgryn
Baby John
Matthew Berry
Minnie, Female Dance Captain
Jenna Robinson-Child
Big Deal, Action Understudy
Brandon Lindsay
A-rab
Michael Wallace
Pauline
Claire Taylor
Snowboy, A-rab Understudy
Cameron Botha
Anybody’s
Angela Inglis
Sharks
Maria
Lynelle Kenned
Maria Cover, A Voice Understudy
Filipa van Eck
Bernardo
Chris Jaftha
Anita
Bianca Le Grange
Chino, Bernardo Understudy
Daniel Richards
Pepe, Chino Understudy
Carlo McFarlane
Rosalia, Anita Understudy
Kirsten Rossiter
Consuela
Chloe Perling
Francisca
Sarah-Ann van der Merwe
Estella, Rosalia Understudy, A Voice
Natasha Hess
Indio
Sonwa Sakuba
Luis
Thami Njoko
Teresita
Lee Piedt
Toro
Rory Jason Marais
Nibbles
Sabelo Radebe
Adults
Doc
Adrian Galley
Schrank, Glad Hand
Nicky Rebelo
Krupke, Fight Choreographer
Richard Lothian
Creative team
Based on a Conception of
Jerome Robbins
Music by
Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim
Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins
Originally Produced on the Broadway stage by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince by arrangement with Roger L. Stevens
Producer
Eric Abraham
Co-Producer
Daniel Galloway
Associate Producers
Lamees Albertus
Greg Karvellas
Director
Matthew Wild
Musical Director, Conductor
Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
Choreographer
Louisa Talbot
Set Design
Conor Murphy
Lighting Design
Joshua Cutts
Costume Design
Birrie le Roux
Sound Designer
Mark Malherbe
Resident Director
Shelley Adriaanzen
Assistant to Musical Director
Marga Sander
Fight Choreographer
Richard Lothian
Dialect Coach
Vicki Bawcombe
Adrian Galley
Set Construction
Gerhard Morkel
Carl Gersbach
Scenic Painters
Nadine Minnaar
Eloise Millward
Alan Millward
Ronmari van Tonder
Head of Wardrobe
Jorge Brandao
Costumier
Kobus O’Callaghan
Wardrobe
Charles Beni
Bayson Moreni
Production team
Technical Director
Alistair Kilbee For Gearhouse Splitbeam
Production Manager
Roberto Grové
Artscape Production
Manager Ricardo Abrahams
Technical Manager
Benjamin du Plessis
Artscape Technical Stage Manager
Amien Griebelaar
Stage Manager
Juanita van Wyk
Deputy Stage Manager
Chané Rinquest
Assistant Stage Manager
Shayna Gleave
Assistant Stage Manager
Adriaan Louw
Kate Upsher
Enrico Cloete
Head of Wardrobe
Jorge Brandao
Dressers
Nadia Savage
Jennifer Williams
Roxy Lombard
Dewald Coetzee
Sound Operator
Cara Dowling
Sound Systems Technician
David Classen
Mic Technicians
David Clark
Melissa George
Sound Supplier
Eastern Acoustics
Reviews
★★★★★
“Magic “West Side” slays the genre for SA. A fantastic theatre experience”
The Star Tonight
★★★★★
“Powerful choreography slugs it out with timeless musical numbers in this flawless all South African revival of West Side Story.”
City Press
★★★★
“Spectacular”
The Cape Argus
“Sets new standards for local grand scale musicals”
Die Beeld
“… has to be seen to be believed”
The Weekend Argus
“Once in a blue moon comes a show so near flawless in its execution that it takes your breath away.”
Artslink
“A theatrical masterpiece with all the cliché’s eliminated”
Stage and Screen
“West Side Story is as good as musicals get”
The Next 48 Hours
“It’s up there among the best theatre experiences in this city, of the decade. If you see one musical this year in Johannesburg: this is it”
What’s On In Joburg
Production photos
