WEST SIDE STORY
MAY 9, 10, & 11, 2025 | 7:00 PM
THE BICENTENNIAL PAVILION | THE INDIANAPOLIS ZOO
Ticket Levels and Pricing:
Bistro Tables:
2-Top: Dress Circle - $240
4-Top: Level A - $400, Level B - $320
Individual Tickets:
Dress Circle (Green) - $92
Level A (Orange) - $69
Level B (Blue) - $57
Level C (Yellow) - $39
West Side Story at the Zoo FAQs
- What is the seating like? Audience will enjoy general seating within the zone that you purchase (see seating chart). Seating will be on a first come, first served basis, so you can claim your seats beginning at 6 PM, when the space opens to the public.
- Is the space covered? Yes, the Bicentennial Pavilion at the Zoo features 40,000 square feet of weather-protected space beneath eleven tree-like canopy structures inspired by Indiana forests. The show will go on, even with moderate rain.
- Can we bring in outside food? You cannot bring in outside food, but you are welcome to purchase food and refreshments available at the Indianapolis Zoo Pavilion Café to enjoy during the show. View Menu HERE.
- What is the parking situation? Parking is free and included with your ticket purchase.
Accessible Seating
We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all patrons. Designated ADA-compliant seating is available for individuals using wheelchairs and for those with limited mobility, along with companion seating.
If you or a member of your party require accessible seating or other accommodations, we strongly encourage you to contact the box office in advance of your visit. Early communication helps us ensure the best possible arrangements. For assistance, please call 317-283-3531 or email [email protected].
West Side Story ADA Seating
All seating for West Side Story at the zoo is ADA accessible. Chairs are set up on level ground in an open seating arrangement, and the venue is fully wheelchair-friendly.
We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all patrons. Designated ADA-compliant seating is available for individuals using wheelchairs and for those with limited mobility, along with companion seating.
If you or a member of your party require accessible seating or other accommodations, we strongly encourage you to contact the box office in advance of your visit. Early communication helps us ensure the best possible arrangements. For assistance, please call 317-283-3531 or email [email protected].
West Side Story ADA Seating
All seating for West Side Story at the zoo is ADA accessible. Chairs are set up on level ground in an open seating arrangement, and the venue is fully wheelchair-friendly.
About the Show:
In an exciting return to the Indianapolis Zoo, with an original onsite design inspired by the beautiful Bicentennial Pavilion, Indianapolis Opera presents a beloved musical classic, West Side Story! A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story is set in 1950s New York, where growing racial tensions between the Sharks, a gang of first-generation Puerto Rican immigrants, and the Jets, made up of ‘American’ boys, lead to an all-out street fight over territory. Meanwhile Tony, best friend of the Jets’ leader Riff, and Maria, sister to Shark’s leader Bernardo, unwittingly fall in love at a neighborhood dance, despite their differing backgrounds. But the purity of their love is challenged as chaos, prejudice, and tragedy churn around them. Boasting a brilliant score from Leonard Bernstein and libretto from Stephen Sondheim with famous numbers, like “Maria,” “Tonight,” and “Somewhere,” this production features an internationally acclaimed cast and shares a hope for peace in trying times.
In an exciting return to the Indianapolis Zoo, with an original onsite design inspired by the beautiful Bicentennial Pavilion, Indianapolis Opera presents a beloved musical classic, West Side Story! A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story is set in 1950s New York, where growing racial tensions between the Sharks, a gang of first-generation Puerto Rican immigrants, and the Jets, made up of ‘American’ boys, lead to an all-out street fight over territory. Meanwhile Tony, best friend of the Jets’ leader Riff, and Maria, sister to Shark’s leader Bernardo, unwittingly fall in love at a neighborhood dance, despite their differing backgrounds. But the purity of their love is challenged as chaos, prejudice, and tragedy churn around them. Boasting a brilliant score from Leonard Bernstein and libretto from Stephen Sondheim with famous numbers, like “Maria,” “Tonight,” and “Somewhere,” this production features an internationally acclaimed cast and shares a hope for peace in trying times.
Why West Side Story?
“Somehow, somewhere,
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving.
Somewhere.”
Perhaps the most famous lyric in West Side Story comes in Act Two during a dream sequence, one in which our star-crossed lovers imagine a place where difference and violence can be set aside and the inequities of the past can be forgiven in order to discover a new way of seeing each other not as identities, but as human beings. We take this opportunity to present a production that attempts to allow for this kind of hope for unity in a more universal way, looking at the core aspect of “othering” seen in the show and extending it beyond the initial creators' reimagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York. We broaden this to explore all the aspects of “the other” that we find in the world today, including those issues of race and ethnicity found in the show, but also differences of religion, politics, gender, class, disability, and socio-economic status. Ultimately, the challenge is to hold tight to love in the face of its opposite, which is not hate, but fear. To fear – and therefore hate – the “other” is in a sense to disavow our own humanity. Let us strive to find that “somewhere” Tony and Maria long for within our own communities and our own selves.
-- A. Scott Parry, stage director
“Somehow, somewhere,
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving.
Somewhere.”
Perhaps the most famous lyric in West Side Story comes in Act Two during a dream sequence, one in which our star-crossed lovers imagine a place where difference and violence can be set aside and the inequities of the past can be forgiven in order to discover a new way of seeing each other not as identities, but as human beings. We take this opportunity to present a production that attempts to allow for this kind of hope for unity in a more universal way, looking at the core aspect of “othering” seen in the show and extending it beyond the initial creators' reimagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York. We broaden this to explore all the aspects of “the other” that we find in the world today, including those issues of race and ethnicity found in the show, but also differences of religion, politics, gender, class, disability, and socio-economic status. Ultimately, the challenge is to hold tight to love in the face of its opposite, which is not hate, but fear. To fear – and therefore hate – the “other” is in a sense to disavow our own humanity. Let us strive to find that “somewhere” Tony and Maria long for within our own communities and our own selves.
-- A. Scott Parry, stage director
WEST SIDE STORY
Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com
Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com
