West Side Story

The touring company of West Side Story is performing at Chicago's Cadillac Theatre. We saw the evening performance Saturday, July 23. Live musical theater is special and Saturday was not an exception. The Palace is a superb venue. Leonard Bernstein's music is an American classic. The touring company has been on the road through Texas, Florida, and various states in the Northeast. (The next stop is Schenectady, NY, so the Chicago performances are hardly exclusives.) Unfortunately, some of the performers, particularly when dancing, looked as though they were simply going through the motions. Others performers were superb. I thought Michelle Aravena as Anita gave the best overall performance, in song, dance, and acting. All in all, the production was good, not great, but well worth both the time and money.