Bracing Bernstein

West Side Story

Sadler’s Wells

Most popular

Katy Balls

How much trouble is Rachel Reeves in?

Tête à Tête
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

West Side Story is just over half a century old, and unlike most famous musicals of its period, or any other, it doesn’t just get ‘revived’ every now and then, it is very much in the repertory — but of what? There’s hardly such a thing as a repertory of musicals, or if there is then this is almost the only plausible member. And it seems not to suit opera companies, though that may be partly because of the demands it makes. But there is the further question of what kind of singers it requires, and the touring production at Sadler’s Wells, which is enjoying a long run there and is travelling round the world, virtually a whole career for its cast, doesn’t answer that question. In fact it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, while providing a bracing and enjoyable evening, playing to packed and thrilled audiences.