Poster west side story
Maria (Mia Pinero) and Tony (Marc Koeck) star in the Guthrie's production of 'West Side Story.'
T. Charles Erickson

Guthrie Theater presents the timeless classic 'West Side Story'

Guthrie Theater: West Side Story (in studio)

Sharks and Jets rumble nightly this summer on the Guthrie Theater stage in Minneapolis, pausing only to light 100 birthday candles for Leonard Bernstein, the composer of West Side Story.

Tony and Maria remain lovestruck, as always. Their story proves that the themes of gang rivalry, prejudice, fear toward the "other," and transcendent love remain as timeless as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the play that inspired West Side Story.

The actors playing Tony and Maria, Marc Koeck and Mia Pinero, stopped by Classical MPR to explore those themes, and to sing their hearts out with three songs from West Side Story — or in this case, Midwest Side Story, because it turns out that these two stars hail from North Dakota and Wisconsin. In fact, we discovered that Mia just might be the first Maria in history to hold a snowmobile license!

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