Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...But the revival that just descended on the Pantages in time to cash in on holiday box-office ca-ching is really pushing it. How mediocre is the production? There were moments during Wednesday's opening night performance when someone would have had to pinch me to get me to remember that I was not in a high school auditorium."
Variety - Highly Recommended
"... The piece's ambition and adventurousness, still startling after 50 years, fully comes through in the current Gotham revival shepherded by the nonagenarian, though the touring version now gracing the Pantages stage is a patchier affair. Still, in live performance "West Side Story" asserts its primacy as a living masterwork, not a mere historical stepping-stone for subsequent serious tuners."
LA Weekly - Highly Recommended
"...If you've ever come across a letter or diary entry written by a younger version of a parent or grandparent, a whole new window into that person opens up, humanizing them in a way that may otherwise have seemed impossible. This touring production of the 2009 Broadway revival does the same for Jerome Robbins' musical set in 1950s New York and loosely adapted from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In fact, librettist Arthur Laurents, who both revived it and directed the Broadway version, stated, "The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity. Every member of both gangs was always a potential killer even then. Now they actually will be." And indeed they are: menacing, libidinous, unvarnished and raw. However, grit is not the sole element of heightened authenticity in this revival."
Backstage - Recommended
"...The timelessly magnificent score sounds great under the musical supervision of Patrick Vaccariello, bringing out the richness of the dazzling original orchestrations by Bernstein, Sid Ramin, and Irwin Kostal. James Youmans' fluid scenic design is generally effective, and David C. Woolard's costumes are splendidly evocative."
Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...Choreography by Joey McKneely, especially the dance mix in the gymnasium, is superlative. James Youmans' dark scenic design is riveting, particularly the fenced off area underneath the highway that sets the scene for the rumble at Act I's finale. This entire show is Class A Number One. It is a perfect representation for both fans of the stage version and for those first-timers, familiar only with the ten time Academy Award-winning 1961 film. Don't miss it!"
Edge - Somewhat Recommended
"...The problem with classics is that the Powers That Be - in other words, producers - tend to develop nervous twitches when innovators want to breathe new life into an old musical. There is a lot that is right with this production, which boasts a recreation of Arthur Laurents' (he also wrote the book), Broadway direction by David Saint and the original Jerome Robbins' choreography reproduced by Joey McKneely, but there is a lot more wrong with it. In the end, it's a hollow museum piece best appreciated for what it used to be rather than what it is."
Stage and Cinema - Somewhat Recommended
"...If the West Side Story at the Pantages Theatre were a college production, it might pass muster, particularly if your favorite niece or nephew had a part in it. Otherwise, what you will see bears as much resemblance to the recent Broadway revival as a farm mule does to a thoroughbred racehorse. Oh, sure, the great Leonard Bernstein score is intact and the Stephen Sondheim lyrics still shine brightly. And you simply can't do any show that Jerome Robbins choreographed without slavishly copying every movement he created (it's one of the laws of the theater which cannot be broken). So you hear the songs and you see the dances, but they pass by uneventfully and without an ounce of genuine theatrical excitement. Generic to the core, they just lie there, like smoked salmon on a plate, sans bagel, sans cream cheese, sans everything."
StageHappenings.com - Highly Recommended
"...It will only be in here at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through January 2, 2011. It is the national touring company of the new Broadway production of West Side Story. This beautiful modern love story based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a brilliant production with everything going for it, a fantastic cast, super direction by David Saint, glorious music, a full orchestra under the direction of Patrick Vaccariello and wonderful staging (scenic design by James Youmans). Westside Story was created by a top team in 1957, Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), a very young Stephen Sondheim making his first Broadway debut (lyrics) and Jerome Robbins (director and choreography). In this production, Robbins choreography has been reproduced by Joey McKneely. In 1961 a musical film of Westside Story was made and won ten Academy Awards out of eleven nominations that year!"
ReviewPlays.com - Highly Recommended
"...This beautiful modern love story based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a brilliant production with everything going for it, a fantastic cast, super direction by David Saint, glorious music, a full orchestra under the direction of Patrick Vaccariello and wonderful staging (scenic design by James Youmans)."