Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour: West Side Story

Tonight, tonight the world is wild and bright. Going mad, shooting sparks into space!

West Side Story exploded onto Broadway in 1957 in a sensational storm of exuberant dance and wistful romance. It was a phenomenon that never faded, “an incandescent piece of work” (The New York Times).

In 2024, this musical masterpiece returns to Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in an electrifying, larger-than-life staging. Experience the greatest score ever written for musical theatre, dynamic dance numbers that soar through the open air, and a love story for the ages.

It’s war on New York’s Upper West Side, and the Jets and the Sharks are locked in a fierce turf battle. But as the two teen gangs hurtle down a dangerous path, Tony and Maria cross enemy lines, dreaming of a time and place where they can love freely.

Leonard Bernstein’s score is punctuated with hits: ‘America’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Maria’, ‘I Feel Pretty’, and the enduring ‘Somewhere’.

Opera and musical theatre great Francesca Zambello directs a production that revels in all that’s beautiful about West Side Story, with designers Brian Thomson and Jennifer Irwin transforming Sydney into a slice of New York.

PLEASE NOTE

This production contains strong language, adult themes and a depiction of sexual violence; not recommended for children under the age of 12.