Broadway West Side Story Partially Reverts to English Lyrics

The producers of the Broadway revival of West Side Story, at the Palace Theatre, have announced that several of the new Spanish lyrics written for this production have now reverted back to Stephen Sondheim’s original lyrics, beginning with the August 20 performance.

“A Boy Like That” is being predominantly sung in English and select dialogue and lyrics in “I Feel Pretty” have also reverted to English. Tony Award-winner Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote the translations for Sondheim’s lyrics and Arthur Laurents’ book. Until last Thursday’s performance, the songs had been performed as “Un Hombre Asi” (“A Boy Like That”) and “Siento Hermosa” (“I Feel Pretty”).

In a statement, Laurents, who also directed the revival, said, “From the outset, the Spanish in West Side Story was an experiment. It’s been an ongoing process of finding what worked and what didn’t, and it still continues.”

The cast currently features Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, Josefina Scaglione as Maria, Karen Olivo as Anita, George Akram as Bernardo, John Arthur Greene as Riff, Steve Bassett as Lt. Schrank, Kyle Brenn as Boy Soprano, Joshua Buscher as Diesel, Mike Cannon as Snowboy, Kyle Coffman as A-Rab, Joey Haro as Chino, Eric Hatch as Big Deal, Curtis Holbrook as Action, Michael Mastro as Glad Hand, Danielle Polanco as Consuela, Jennifer Sanchez as Rosalia, Lee Sellars as Krupke, Tro Shaw as Anybodys, Ryan Steele as Baby John, and Greg Vinkler as Doc.

For further information, visit: broadwaywestsidestory.com.