West Side Story

This Saturday, April 18, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra presents a fully staged performance of the Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim musical set in late-1950s New York, where love grows in the shadow of prejudice-fueled gang violence.

What does “West Side Story” look like in 2026, one year shy of its 70th anniversary?

“It’s a little bit less about the looks and a little bit more about, ‘How come we’re still in the same place?’” director Chía Patiño said. “…We’re back to people teaching to hate someone that is not like you and they’re pushing people away. Even as people try to get together, you’re pulling them apart. … Because society won’t let them, you know? And society is teaching them to hate and to reject and not to see the humanity, but to stuff to stay in the differences and not to see that really, we’re on the same, you know, there’s one soul that’s, you know, one hand, one soul. I find that just mind blowing, that the message is just as powerful today as it was 60 years ago, and we need to hear that: ‘Let us be together.’”

“West Side Story” combines local talent with guest artists from across the country. Patiño hails from Ecuador, where she served as artistic and executive director for the Teatro Nacional Sucre; she is now an assistant professor in the department of voice and opera at the University of Michigan.

Andrew Bidlack plays Tony, who gave up his membership in the Jets gang, but is drawn back to the streets by escalating conflicts between the Jets and the Puerto Rican gang known as the Sharks. Bidlack comes from Baltimore, while Cecilia Violetta López, who plays Maria, was raised in Idaho and became general director and CEO of Opera Las Vegas last year. While López and Bidlack have performed in concerts and shows around the world, both were surprised by the scope of the KSO production.

“I thought until this morning that (the KSO musicians) were going to be on stage with us and we were going to be kind of in front of a crowd,” Bidlack said, on the first night of rehearsals. “So, it’s kind of exciting to know that they’re going to be in the pit and we have a full set.”

“A full production with costumes, a set, everything,” López said.

Racist Riff lets loose with a lot of anti-Puerto Rican slurs, particularly in his encounters with Sharks leader Bernardo (Emiliano Morales). That’s difficult to say and to play, Horsburgh admitted.

“I’ve been trying to think about it a lot,” he said. “Like, how am I supposed to tap into something like that? And I’m not really sure I’ve figured it out.

“Bad characters always think that they’re doing the right thing. That’s how you justify all of your actions. So, I think it’s just important to go back to how the Puerto Ricans have affected Riff’s life personally, and why he is feeling all of these things, because there are reasons that he’s feeling this way and acting this way.”

The rest of the cast includes Daniella Castoria as Anita, Owen Smith as Action, Quintin Steers as Baby John, and familiar local faces Michael P. Martin as the upbeat social worker Glad Hand, and Larry Bell as the perpetually disrespected Officer Krupke.

Since it debuted in 1957, music and theater scholars have argued about whether “West Side Story” is a musical or an opera, and the debate is still unresolved, even with this team.

“While often considered musical theater, its emotional storytelling and the artistic demands placed upon the orchestra really give the piece an operatic feel,” said music director Julian Kuerti.

Patiño was more direct. “Is it an opera? Is it a musical?” she asked. “It’s a phenomenal piece – who cares?”