West Side Story opens August 8 at Lakes Region Summer Theater

West Side Story opens August 8 at Lakes Region Summer Theatre and runs through August 20.

Featuring music by Leonard Bernstein (the Grammy-winning composer who wrote the musicals Candide and On the Town) and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (the genius behind the musicals Into the Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy), this timeless retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has captivated audiences since 1957.

West Side Story follows two gangs who fight over the same territory on the streets of New York City. The Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang, are relative newcomers to the city, and have a hard time integrating. The Jets, the American gang, retaliate against anyone who enters their territory. Despite the violence between these two gangs, a Jet, Tony, falls in love with a beautiful Sharks' girl, Maria. Can Tony and Maria find a way to love each other while their friends engage in gang warfare? Or will they become part of the carnage created by the never-ending brutality?

Featured are hit songs “America", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "Gee, Officer Krupke", "I Feel Pretty", "One Hand, One Heart", and "Cool".

The acting company at the Lakes Region Summer Theatre is filled with familiar faces from past productions, plus new faces from some of the best theatre programs from across the country. Cara Antosca, who played Sheila in last season’s production of Hair, is returning for her third year. Paul Bradley, who played Hud in Hair, is returning as well. Kelley Moran, who played Anna in The King And I and Joan in Dames at Sea, will rejoin the company for her second year. Also returning are Justin Jutras (Billy Flynn in Chicago), Mirai Booth-Ong (Charity in Anything Goes), and Craig McKerley (Maurice in Beauty and the Beast). Nate Sawyer, the veteran company member, will be back for his fourth season. Audiences will remember him as Lumiere in last summer's Beauty and the Beast.

Next at Lakes Region Summer Theatre is the final show of the season, Oklahoma!, which runs August 22 through September 3. Also be sure to catch the children’s show Tom’s Toy Trunk, August 4, 5, 11, and 12. The final show of the children’s theatre series will be Sleeping Beauty, which runs August 18, 19, 25, and 26. All children’s shows are at 10:30 a.m., admission for all patrons is $4, and children under 2 are admitted free.