Ivo van Hove & Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

Ivo van Hove to direct a new production of West Side Story on Broadway

The Broadway revival of West Side Story will begin performances on December 10, 2019, ahead of an official opening on February 6, 2020.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

"Something's Coming, Something Good"... Producer Scott Rudin has announced that Tony Award winner Ivo van Hove will direct a brand new production of the timeless classic West Side Story during the 2019-2020 Broadway season. Performances are scheduled to begin at a yet-to-be-named theatre on December 10, 2019, ahead of an official opening on February 6, 2020.

For the first time ever in the United States, the production will feature all new choreography courtesy of the internationally acclaimed Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. It will also feature scenic and lighting design by van Hove's longtime collaborator Jan Versweyveld.

West Side Story, which debuted on Broadway in 1957, features music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Bernstein, Sondheim & Arthur Laurents.

Stephen Sondheim released the following statement: "This is Ivo van Hove's first Broadway musical, and I'm eager to see what he does with it. What keeps theater alive over time is reinterpretation, and when that reinterpretation is as invigorating as his productions of A View from the Bridge and The Crucible, it makes for something to look forward to with excitement."

David Saint, literary executor of the Arthur Laurents Estate, added: "Arthur always believed the only reason to revive West Side Story on Broadway was to bring a new perspective to the material. Ivo van Hove is sure to do just that."

And And on behalf of Leonard Bernstein, Jamie Bernstein commented: "The Bernstein Office and siblings are thrilled at this opportunity to see West Side Story staged anew in its own location, New York City. This show's theme of love destroyed by hatred and intolerance is as poignant today as it was in Shakespeare's time - but the story line involving the mistreatment of Puerto Rican immigrants makes West Side Story more timely now than ever. 'Nobody knows in America/Puerto Rico's IN America!'"

Director Ivo van Hove won a Tony Award in 2016 for his revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge and also helmed a revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible during that same season. Previously, he took home an Olivier Award for the London staging of A View from the Bridge in 2015. Other recent productions include Lazarus (featuring the songs of David Bowie) at New York Theatre Workshop and in London and Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre in London.

Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and JulietWest Side Story is widely considered as "one of the most significant cultural achievements of the 20th century". Since its Broadway debut in 1957, it has been revived four times on the Great White Way and was last seen at the Palace Theatre from February 2009 through to January 2011.

Casting and venue information will be announced at a later date.  

Originally published on

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