West Side Story Revival Announced!

In The Heights won the Best Musical Tony and sold a million dollars in tickets the next day. The creator and star of the show, Lin Manuel Miranda, pointed out in interviews that his was the first musical on Broadway that was about Spanish people and written by Spanish people. And when something written by dark people and starring dark people makes money, "Latin" because the trendy thing to do.

So this was bound to happen - West Side Story will be back on Broadway in 2009.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. I love West Side Story, and it was the first thing I ever saw that had Puerto Ricans in it (even if half of them were white). And the great news is that Arthur Laurents is directing - and he did an incredible job reviving Gypsy this year. Laurents states in Playbill that his will be a darker take on the material, will be much more bilingual than the first, and will be more accurate to that time in New York history.

Here's where I bring out the old family joke about this show: How is it that Tony runs through the Puerto Rican section of New York screaming "Maria! Maria!" and only one girl answers?

Here are the details!

Oh, and PS - tell me the above isn't the greatest Playbill you've ever seen.