Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The Marriott production is not heavy on concept nor (ahem) the unexpected. The set is the usual metallic pieces, the choreography by Alex Sanchez is a tad gesturally on the nose, but in the workable Jerome Robbins pallet. There are no Ivo Van Hove-style risks nor radical moves nor Tony Kushner-style radical embellishments. You don't get the full orchestrations, as you will at the Lyric. And if the director, Victor Malana Maog, had something burningly revisionist he wanted to do with this show, it's not easy to find."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...There’s plenty of good in this production, running through March 27. It’s true that very few people who attend the Marriott presentation will have seen other variations (except maybe the Spielberg remake or the 1961 Oscar-winning original), and first and foremost I should note that this is a decent version and don’t hesitate to catch it. It’s a truly great musical, and nearly any professional staging will deliver its message and its music with enough class to be engrossing. And the Marriott does provide that."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Marriott's revival of the "Romeo and Juliet"-inspired tragedy largely honors Robbins' vision. But director Victor Malana Moag and choreographer Alex Sanchez have made some interesting narrative and choreographic choices, beginning with Jeffrey D. Kmiec's set, which is marked by chain-link panels. Lowered, they make the compact Lincolnshire stage feel like a cage. Trapped inside are the Jets, led by Drew Redington's lean and hungry Riff, and the Sharks, captained by Bernardo (Gary Cooper). Warring over a piece of concrete to call their own, they and their gangs are caught in an endless cycle of violence, the impact of which Moag illustrates with a wrenching final image of young women united in grief, trailing the body of yet another young victim of street violence."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...The ensemble is packed with actors who totally embody the roles they play. In less sensitive times, most of the Puerto Rican gang members in the show have been played by non-Latinx actors. In Robert Wise's 1961 film, Maria was played by a white actress of Russian descent (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko, better known as Natalie Wood). This production deftly avoids these past errors, presenting us with a fine, diverse cast, packed with Latinx performers."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Fans of musical theater in general and West Side Story in particular should thoroughly enjoy the Marriott Theatre revival. The production offers everything this demanding classic requires — intelligent directing, skilled high energy choreography, and a large talented cast, most of them triple threat singers, dancers, and actors, with the emphasis on athletic and expressive dancing."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...This West Side Story at the Marriott Theatre isn’t a national touring production where stars join or are born, but it’s one of the many theatrical performances that Marriott has produced that will provide a pleasurable evening for anyone that appreciates live theater."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It is wonderful to be back in the theater again. Yes, for many people it has been two years since they have watched a live performance. Judging from the almost full house, opening night at Marriott Theatre for “West Side Story”, one could see that the atmosphere was one of enjoyment, excitement and love. One must remember that this musical was revolutionary in its time and in many ways changed the way we view “musical theater”! With its book by Arthur Laurents that is loosely based on a work by William Shakespeare called “Romeo & Juliet”. In his version it is not the Montagues and Capulets, but rather the White people versus the Puerto Ricans, and our star-crossed lovers do not end up exactly the way they do in the work of the Bard."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...And yes, this musical is very much the creation of a specific time and place. But by staying true to those crucially defining elements it also speaks loudly, clearly and poignantly to this moment in American society, just as Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," the foundational key to the show's power and innate brilliance, continues to do."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This splendid production in Lincolnshire is filled with excitement, romance and a bit of humor. If only to hear Bernstein’s beautiful score sung by a company of talented vocalists and played by Ms Garwood’s brilliant orchestra, or to see some brilliant, athletic choreography danced as it was meant to be, this production is a must-see. It’s also an opportunity to see some new, up-and-coming, age-appropriate young professionals acting, singing and dancing their hearts out in a truly timeless American classic."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Because, like I said, West Side Story can certainly still make us think-still is making me think-socially, about what can be done to make life better. But West Side Story-done so well, now through March 27-also shows us how good life is, how good life can be. We have these beloved songs and characters, and we have such talented people like those in this cast and crew who will give that little bit more to live up to the material, who will play each show like it might be their last, and who, thank goodness, are still here to provide us grateful fans that feeling you get when you're waiting for the lights to go out and for the show to start."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Tender and sweet Marriott newcomers Lauren Maria Medina and Jake David Smith make operatic entrances as Maria and Tony with earnest innocence transforming, particularly in Medina's case, into tragically guttural understanding. Their seconds are second to none as Vanessa Aurora Sierra's Anita celebrates both the character's and actor's Puerto Rican heritage in a role she was born to play; most memorable are her truly jaw-dropping dance moves. So, too, Gary Cooper as Bernardo and Drew Redington as Riff lead their gangs and the whole gang through a wonderful two-plus hours of top-quality entertainment."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Using the traditional choreography from Jerome Robbin’s original production, Marriott’s high energy cast delivers the dance with amazing precision and youthful energy. It will leave you breathless."
PicksInSix - Recommended
"...Conductor Patti Garwood effortlessly delivers the complex Leonard Bernstein score with precision. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s urban street design, punctuated by Jesse Klug’s evocative lighting, is framed by steel piping, iron fence and a skyscape of windows above that makes you think of both a gritty playground and street gangs in cages trying to fight their way out. The darker, more brooding stage elements allow Amanda Vander Byl’s costumes to splash and swing on stage and in every high-energy dance number making “West Side Story” at Marriott Theatre a satisfying and superbly-paced production. "
Loop North News - Highly Recommended
"...Though Steven Spielberg has done a fine job with his redo of the classic 1961 film, West Side Story, nominated for seven Academy Awards, there's something to be said for seeing this classic musical live on stage. It will simply take your breath away."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Marriott Lincolnshire’s presentation of Westside Story is energetic, joyful, vibrantly colorful with an infectious Jazz and Latin vibe. Critically-acclaimed and award-winning 25 year veteran of the stage Director Victor Malana Maog projects the passion and drive of this still pertinent tale. Maog admits “Westside Story has been a dream project of mine. This production celebrates the joy of gathering around a remarkable classic and understanding the duty to make these characters–the Jets and Sharks–as whole and human as we possibly can in 2022.” Along with his superb team, musical director Jeff Award winner Ryan T. Nelson and choreographer Jeff Award nominee Alex Sanchez, Maog achieves this goal."
