The latest Broadway revival of West Side Story opens tonight (March 19), at 6:30 p.m. at the Palace Theatre.

Arthur Laurents, who wrote the Tony-winning libretto, is directing this revival, which has been playing preview performances since February 23.

According to Laurents, “This show will be radically different from any other production of West Side Story ever done. 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. Only Tony and Maria try to live in a different world.”

Additionally, LeonardBernstein.com says that this production “will introduce the unprecedented element of selectively weaving Spanish throughout both the book and songs.” Several songs, including “I Feel Pretty” (sung by Maria) and “A Boy Like That” (sung by Anita) are sung entirely in Spanish; the Playbill program provides the English translations.

The producers share this description:

West Side Story transports the achingly beautiful tale of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the turbulent streets of the Upper West Side in 1950′s New York City. Two star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, find themselves caught between the rival street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, the ‘Jets’ and the ‘Sharks.’ Their struggle to exist together in a world of violence, hate and prejudice is one of the most heart-breaking, relevant and innovative musical masterpieces of our time.

West Side Story made its world premiere more than 50 years ago, in 1957, at the National Theatre in Washington, DC. According to Playbill, this current revival production played an out-of-town tryout at that same landmark from Dec. 15, 2008-Jan. 17, 2009.

The original Broadway production of West Side Story premiered in September 26, 1957 at the Winter Garden Theatre. The show was the brainchild of Jerome Robbins (idea conception), Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics).

Buy the movie and the book (with Romeo & Juliet and the screenplay of West Side Story side by side!).

Visit the official West Side Story website for more information.