On the heals of the Hispanic-centric hit In the Heights comes a wave of Latin American-influenced theater, most notably the spicy revival of West Side Story, which opens this month. But fiery choreography and impassioned melodies have nothing on the show’s sizzling leading man— Arkansas native Matt Cavenaugh, who stars as Tony opposite Buenos Aires beauty Josefina Scaglione’s Maria.
No stranger to the limelight, Cavenaugh made an eye-popping impression in 2003 when he appeared on the billboards for Urban Cowboy, his Broadway debut. And although he’s also played opposite Tony winners Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens and Harvey Fierstein in A Catered Affair, West Side Story is truly a professional milestone for the 30-year-old actor.
“It’s pretty incredible,” he says. “[West Side Story] was one of the first shows I saw as a kid. My local high school did a production of it, and I was blown away by the story and the music. That was really the inspiration that prompted me to get involved [in theater].”
West Side Story has charmed legions of fans in its 52 years, but Cavenaugh notes that the new incarnation of the beloved musical is definitely not the show diehard fans are familiar with. “This is a very new production of a very known entity,” he says. “The most obvious change is that it’s going to be bilingual. All of the [actors playing the] Sharks, for the most part, are authentically Latino. And when the Sharks [and their families] are among themselves they speak and sing in Spanish. So songs like ‘I Feel Pretty’ will be sung in Spanish.”
The show’s recasting is generating wild expectations, as only a classic revival can. But Cavenaugh is confident in the vision of director Arthur Laurents, 90, who wrote the original book to the show in 1957. Laurents’ bold, brave new choices shake things up a bit, but hallmark elements from the ’57 original remain. “We hope it’s going to be a very exciting, special, memorable production of an iconic show,” Cavenaugh says. “What I look forward to is the chance to do it every night.”
