By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theatre Critic

Area musical theater lovers have a prime time to start the New Year off on the right foot when Broadway San Diego presents the national tour of Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s 1957 hit musical, “West Side Story,” at the Civic Theatre January 4-9. It’s the updated 2009 Broadway version for which Lin Manuel-Miranda (“In the Heights”) translated some of the lyrics into Spanish.

Laurents, now 92, staged the new Broadway production, which began previews at Manhattan’s Palace Theatre February 23, 2009, received critical acclaim and recouped its $14 million investment after only thirty weeks. For the tour, Laurents’ direction is recreated by David Saint, his associate director on Broadway. Laurents wrote the original book, with 25-year-old Stephen Sondheim writing lyrics for composer Leonard Bernstein. The musical score contains such hits as “Maria,” “Somewhere,” “I Feel Pretty,” “A Boy Like That,” and “Tonight.” Jerome Robbins’ original choreography is reproduced by Joey McKneely. The cast album won the 2010 Grammy Award for best musical show album early last year.

Michelle Aravena, seen at the Old Globe in “The First Wives Club,” returns to San Diego to portray the show’s spitfire Anita. A native of Connecticut, she grew up watching the 1961 film of “West Side Story.” “I danced around my living room before I even knew what I was watching,” she said by phone from Los Angeles, where the show played the Pantages Theatre. “I just remember the woman in the purple dress (Rita Moreno as Anita).”

Aravena began dance lessons at 3, singing lessons at 9, and performed in community theater after her dance teacher, BeverlyLegte (who never misses an opening), asked her if she wanted to be on the stage. Aravena began working professionally at age 9 and got her Equity card at 16. When she made her New York debut in a show at Lincoln Center (she was 11), and her Chilean immigrant father and her Italian-American mother took turns driving her forth and back to the city. She did her homework and ate meals in the car.

“They were very dedicated to getting me where I needed to be,” said Aravena. “They worked two or three jobs each to support what we wanted to do. Now it’s kind of nice because we’re all making a living doing what we love.” Her younger sister, also a dancer, runs a performing arts school in Brewster, NY, and her brother has his own restaurant in Danbury, Conn.

Aravena believes that by giving the Puerto Rican Sharks more Spanish, Laurents made them more specific and authentic than they were before. Certainly they are edgier and more believable.

“West Side Story” is one of the most poignant romances since Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” on which it is based. The plot concerns the territorial wars of the fictional 1950s gangs, the Sharks (kids of Puerto Rican immigrants)
and the English speaking Jets. A Jet named Tony (Kyle Harris) falls in love with Maria (Ali Ewoldt), whose brother Bernardo (German Santiago) is leader of the Sharks. Anita (Aravena) is Bernardo’s girlfriend and Maria’s best friend.

“Of all the shows I’ve ever seen, ever done, ever heard about, this is the ultimate,” said Aravena. “Everything comes together to make perfection.”

“WEST SIDE STORY” PERFORMANCE: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.

TIMES: Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Friday at 8 p.m.
Saturday at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.:

ASL interpreted performance at 2 p.m.
Sunday at 1 p.m. & 6 p.m.

Open-Captioned performance at 1 p.m.

WHERE: San Diego Civic Theatre, 3rd and B Street, downtown San Diego

TICKETS: Start at $20; Tickets on sale now.