By Marc Fjor I attended Washington National Opera’s fully staged performance of West Side Story at Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. By the middle and especially by the end, I wondered: how in the hell is WNO going to do a concert version of this (without a set)? I returned, this time to Beth esda’s Strathmore Music Center, to see it again. There, the production was semi-staged (dancers and singers in costume with props but no set), which proved to be an evening with little to no gimmicks, yet plenty of thrills. Scene from ‘West Side Story’ in concert. Photo by Elman Studio. In this stripped-down concert format, the 50-piece orchestra sits upstage, and you can see the music happen: the conductor (Marin Alsop) emphatically waving her baton and the string section bowing in sync. It was just as riveting. I didn’t miss the full stage set. Neither did the people who sat behind me, whom I overheard saying the same. Washington National Opera’s West Side Story (directed by Francesca Zambello) is youthful, kinetic, delightful, hormonal, and full of color — with or without a set. The story takes place in 1950s New York. It focuses on the tension between rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, and how they interfere in the lives of teenage lovers Maria (who is Puerto Rican, played by a sensational Shereen Pimentel) and Tony (who is white, played by a charming Ryan McCartan). The two met on a Friday and, due to a series of tragedies, didn’t make it to Monday.  TOP: Ryan McCartan as Tony and Shereen Pimentel as Maria in ‘West Side Story’; ABOVE: Marin Alsop conducting the Washington National Opera Orchestra. Photos by Elman Studio. In a way, the story is a case study on the ripple effects of the violence promoted by the two factions — a meditation on primal instinct, territorialism, and how the best people can have their worst moments.  Within the past ten years in the United States, there has been talk about prison abolition, restorative justice, and what to do with those we cast aside. While West Side Story showcases this violence, it is not in the business of offering easy solutions. In the span of one weekend, we witness multiple murders and a rape scene, all because Maria danced with the wrong boy. Maria’s best friend, Anita (played by an electric Amanda Castro), catches her and Tony having sex shortly after he murdered Bernardo (a riveting Yurel Echezarreta), Anita’s ex, in a moment of revenge. She asks how Maria could love “A Boy Like That.”  Anita sings “A boy who kills has no heart,” yet Maria cannot help but love him. In a tender moment, the two conclude, “When love comes so strong / There is no right or wrong / Your love is your life.” By the end of the play, Chino (Julio Catano-Yee), a good, hard-working kid, seeks to avenge his brother Bernardo. He goes after Tony, Bernando’s killer. Anita tries to warn Tony. While doing so, she is assaulted by the Jets. She then tells a critical lie, so that Tony can be hurt the same as she was. A series of lies and betrayal until, finally, Tony is executed in the public square — the ultimate show of consequence. Maria takes the gun that killed him and accuses everyone onstage of the murder, perhaps everyone in the audience too.  The fact is, most people who murder commit murder only once. That statistic has always scared me, as do the realities of the opera. Who are we in our worst moments? God, may we never know.  The characters in this play can’t even remember who attacked whom first. The two enemy gangs negotiate a fair brawl. Yet, because of a lack of trust on both sides, both groups enter with zero intention of carrying through on their promise. It is a kind of mutually assured destruction in a world wherein “Spic” and “American” are both derogatory terms, defining in-groups and out-groups. At a time in the world when “American” has become a quasi-slur, when America rings uneasy in many people’s ears — it makes one think about what it all means. “America” (both the nation and song) is a story of competing narratives. In the production, performers snap, jerk, kick, and shape their hands into guns. Everyone is horny to pull the trigger. By the night’s conclusion, there is a gun fired. It startles the audience members who scream.  Maria says we all killed Tony. She might be right.  — Running Time: Two hours and 40 minutes with a 25-minute intermission. West Side Story, presented by Washington National Opera, played fully staged May 8 to 10, 2026, at Lyric Baltimore in Baltimore and in concert May 14 and 15, 2026, at the Music Center at Strathmore. CREATIVESStage Director: Francesca Zambello, Conductor: Marin Alsop, Associate Director: Eric Sean Fogel, Choreographer: Joshua Bergasse, Associate Chorographer: Kirra Schmidt Carper, Scenic Designer: Peter J. Davidson, Lighting Designer: A.J. Guban after Mark McCullough, Costume Designer: Jessica Jahn, Sound Designer: Andrew Harper CASTRyan McCartan, Shereen Pimentel, Amanda Castro, Taylor Harley, Yurel Echezarreta, David Prottas, P. Tucker Worley, Arcadian Broad, Tristan McIntyre, Brendan Yeates, Peter Murphy, Matthew Liotine, Ethan Zeph, Madison Hertel, Emily Snouffer, Cristyn Dang, Rachel Harris, Leah Suskind, Julio Catano-Yee, Omar David Caraballo, Thomas Ortiz, Dan Follett, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueve, Edgar Cavazos, Daniella Castoria, Rachel Josefina, Maria Cristina Posada Slye, Jordyn Waldo, Erin Gonzalez, Wynn Harmon, Zachary Owen, Ahmad Kamal, Calvin McCullough, Chadwick Balen Marc Fjor is a playwright and assistant poetry editor at New Orleans Review. SEE ALSO:Applause for Washington National Opera’s take on ‘West Side Story’ (review by Susan Galbraith, May 10, 2026) ...read more read less