West Side Story on Sydney Harbour opens next month!

Fingers are clicking and legs are high-kicking: rehearsals have just begun for West Side Story on Sydney Harbour. 

In the Hall of Legends at Sydney Olympic Park (it’s the only place big enough to re-create the harbour stage!), the cast and creative team have less than six weeks to pull the greatest musical of all time together.

In a few days, construction begins down at Fleet Steps on Sydney Harbour. Over three weeks, a massive team work to build a pop-up, open air opera house from scratch.

And in one month, just add fireworks, and West Side Story on Sydney Harbour opens. With only four weeks of performances, now's the time for you to make a date.

In the meantime, here are some behind the scenes snippets to enjoy!

What happens in the story?

The Jets (a gang of all-American boys) are at war with the Sharks (a gang of Puerto Rican boys), and the Upper West Side is their battleground.

When Tony (a former Jet) and Maria (a Puerto Rican girl) meet and fall in love, the pair wonder if they can overcome the deep rivalries between their communities. Optimistically, they sing: “There’s a place for us, somewhere a place for us.”

But the two gangs see it differently, and the stage is set for a bloody fight.

(Not to give anything away, but the story is based on Romeo and Juliet, and we all know how that ends.)

 

Who are the main characters?

Maria — a young Puerto Rican girl
Tony — former leader of the Jets, a sincere young man who is trying to leave the gang lifestyle behind
Riff — leader of the Jets, Tony’s best friend
Anita — Maria’s friend, a ‘big sister’ figure
Bernardo — leader of the Sharks, Maria's brother, Anita’s boyfriend

This production is ...

A high-energy outdoor spectacular created especially for the iconic Sydney Harbour stage. Director Francesca Zambello has created a contemporary look for this timeless love story, with choreographer Julio Monge to recreate Jerome Robbins’ explosive original choreography.

Australian set designer Brian Thomson has created a set design based around New York’s icons, from the graffitied subway cars and highway overpasses to the Statue of Liberty and everything she represents.

Australian costume designer Jenny Irwin has used colour to show the rivalry between the gangs: the Jets are dressed in cool blues and lots of denim and the Sharks and their girlfriends are dressed in hot, bright colours.

WEST SIDE STORY ON SYDNEY HARBOUR
OPERA ON SYDNEY HARBOUR, FLEET STEPS, 

MRS MACQUARIES POINT

MARCH 22 – APRIL 21, 2019