Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...This is a first-class tour with a full-strength ensemble and a decent, 20-piece orchestra in the pit. It makes up the best touring version of this show I've seen and, overall, I think the cast works much better than on Broadway in 2009. One thing is for certain: You absolutely believe that Kyle Harris' Tony and Ali Ewoldt's Maria love each other from the burning depths of their young souls. That was not the case in New York."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Although it's proficient and polished, it falls short of the gripping power the work is capable of achieving. Ali Ewoldt's feisty energy and soaring soprano make her an affecting Maria. But Kyle Harris's portrayal of her lover Tony is marred by fluttery, sometimes out-of-tune singing. The orchestra delivers a competent reading of Leonard Bernstein's edgy score—a stunning mix of Mahler and mambo, Broadway and bebop—but key dance sequences lack tension. Passages of Spanish, introduced for authenticity, feel tacked-on."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Over the years, too many iconic Broadway musicals have suffered shabby revivals which diminish their originals with cheap sets, insipid staging, cut-down casts and thin orchestras. Sometimes these revivals have boasted the original star, now far too old for the role he/she is playing. To our good fortune, West Side Story makes none of these mistakes. This touring version of the 2009 Broadway revival is vibrant, moving and satisfying."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...It can be so tough for those of us who grew up on this show to see it differently, but Laurents' vision as executed by Saint and team changes the focus just enough to give a reason, as if any were needed, to revisit West Side Story. A chance to see it with a large and age-appropriate, all-Equity cast, 18-piece orchestra and Broadway production values should never be passed up. A dramatic interpretation just different enough to make us reconnect with these tragic teens is an added bonus, and might just guide school and stock companies on how they present it in the future."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...So hot it gives you chills, the Broadway revival of “West Side Story” at the Cadillac Palace Theatre is best described as electrified. From the moment the Jets hit the stage in the opening dance number, “When You’re a Jet,” the audience journeys on an odyssey of palpable emotion. Passion, sex, pride, love, anger, and devastation pump through your veins as this award-winning cast recreates the magic, over 50 years after the original debut. Author Arthur Laurents’ ethnic conflict between two groups of immigrant children, the Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, still resonates with an audience continuing to face the question: who are the real Americans?"
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...Just the opportunity to hear this fabulous score or witness this incomparable choreography is reason enough to see this wonderful production. Don’t miss this chance to experience West Side Story brought to life with amazing energy and beguiling talent."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The minor storytelling problems remain in the show’s transfer of Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York; the sudden courtship between Tony and Maria is even more headlong than those Verona kids’ (though actors Kyle Harris and the terrific Ali Ewoldt demonstrate convincing chemistry), and the placement of the second-act dream ballet “Somewhere” and its follower, the comic “Gee, Officer Krupke,” still seems awkward. But Laurents’s script tweaks seem to balance the playing field between the Sharks and Jets, with Christopher Patrick Mullen’s thuggish Lt. Schrank bearing down on both sides. Robbins’s jazzy, pugnacious choreography is well represented; the “Dance at the Gym” sequence is a fierce showdown, while the Jets’ finger-snapping “Cool” is a strikingly executed embodiment of tension and frustration. Along with Bernstein’s gorgeous, complex score, Robbins’s work remains the best reason to revisit the West Side."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...this National Tour is still a most worthy, even breathtaking theatrical event. Bernstein’s music and the Robbins’ inspired dances are so exquisite that this production is a terrific show to introduce teens to the magic of classical Broadway musicals. West Side Story certainly captures the angry voice of urban youths in the 1950′s. Much of that angst still resonates today. But in this high energy production – dance and a heart-throbbing score dominate. And that is all that is needed sometimes."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...The classic story of “West Side Story” is one of the most beloved musicals of all time and some would argue to be the best. The music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim will be humming in your head long after the theatre has emptied, perhaps even well into the night after you’re home and in bed. “West Side Story” is fast and dangerous, the choreography is some of the best I’ve seen come through this city and I’m sure will go down as one of the best tours to date."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Somewhat Recommended
"...The best parts of West Side Story are the songs, including; “Tonight,” “America,” “Maria,” “One Hand, One Heart,” “I Feel Pretty,” and my all-time favorite “Somewhere.” The score has to boast the most re-makes by contemporary artists. Sondheim and Bernstein composed a powerful soundtrack. This production produces colorful and lively versions of musical numbers. In particular, the personalities of German Santiago (Bernardo) and Michelle Aravena (Anita) produce vibrant, high-energy fun. The speed bump for me is the duets between Kyle Harris (Tony) and Ali Ewoldt (Maria). They look great together. Regardless of ethnic differences, they are a striking couple. I want them to be together because they are so pretty. They just don’t sound great together."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Touring companies, even when they stay for more than a few weeks do not have the most elaborate of sets, but I was very impressed with the realism of the “Rumble” set. Watching it fall into place is an amazing experience. Director David Saint took on the task of recreating a masterpiece ( Jerome Robbins was a magician) and Joey McKneely handled th re-choreography. While they both used the original work, they made some modifications, again a sign of the times, but it appears they have both studied Robbins and put a production on stage that he would have been proud of."