West Side Story

West Side Story is a Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents, and choreography/concept by Jerome Robbins. The musical is based off of Shakespeare’s play called Romeo and Juliet, with the idea of modernizing the plot to relate to New York in the 20th century (Hoffman 84). The musical was originally set to be called East Side Story; a “religion-oriented” (Hoffman 85) feud between two parties, however, a transformation occurred “between…

world renown musical West Side Story. West Side Story is one of my favorite musicals, hence why I have this record, and have seen it numerous times, because it is not only a beautiful production, filled with expressive dance and music, but it also addresses some critical social issues. The musical takes place in Manhattan, and puts a contemporary spin, or at least contemporary for the 50’s, on the Shakespearean love story, Romeo and Juliet. The star-crossed lovers in this story are Tony and…

but close, West Side Story. Through music and dance, the homes of American families in the 1950 have been introduced to a modern story of Romeo and Juliet, except instead of the Capulets and Montagues, it’s the Puerto Ricans and the Anglo-Americans. The migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States in the 1950s led to an influx of new community members and as a result, another component of diversity in the “melting pot,” that is the United States. With the introduction of West Side Story came…

It All Begins Tonight (Poetics Applied to West Side Story) Jean Racine said it best, “A tragedy need not have blood and death; it 's enough that it all be filled with that majestic sadness that is the pleasure of tragedy.” In other words, tragedy is merely a compilation of several elements which play on our deepest and most intimate emotions. Aristotle was among the first philosophers to recognize and critique the tragedy. Within “Poetics”, Aristotle discusses the very logistics of the dramatic…

Jerome Robbins' suggested the idea of developing a musical based off of the story of Romeo and Juliet to Leonard Bernstein in January of 1949 (originally proposed title: East Side Story, set in the less privileged areas of New York at the concurrence of Easter-Passover celebrations). In August of 1955, a gathering with Arthur Laurents took place where another idea emerged -- two teen-age mobs as the conflicting groups, one of them newly-arrived Puerto Ricans, the other self-styled…

From the origin of the American musical, a variety of creative teams have developed many methods to popularize now memorable shows. These methods were considered integral in the formula for developing the musical and were later deemed “conventional”. Composers and lyricists throughout the years eventually adapted these conventions and have created some of the most successful shows that are still relevant to this day, including Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables. Some of those inspirational…

West Side Story, which is a great film and for a lot of people one of their personal favorite movies of all time and I guess would be my favorite musical film since I haven’t seen very many. Why do I kind of like this film? Because it’s a film with high energy, great actors, some good songs, pretty good dance numbers, and an alright love story, which I’m not that much of a fan of love stories but it was a pretty good one. West Side Story which is an updated Romeo and Juliet story, is in the many…

West Side Story is a romantic musical film, that is compared to a ‘ Romeo and Juliet’ story. The musical explores a wide variety of themes. Some of the main themes include racism, sexism and loyalty. These themes are still relevant today however, they may be different to us. The choreographer uses dance throughout wisely, to help get different points across. Racism is one of the main themes throughout and shapes a lot of the film. The two sides Sharks and Jets, Sharks ( Puerto Ricans), Jets (…

West Side Story: the Racist Representation West Side Story, written by Arthur Laurents and produced by Jerome Robbins, constructs racialized identities for its Puerto Rican characters. Their constructed, stereotypical identities are not accurate or realistic. However, the film has been very popular, among the mainstream audience – the white Americans – and among the Puerto Rican spectators. I believe that the so-critiqued racist elements against Puerto Ricans in the film is lightened up the…

play review of West Side Story. The lyricist Stephen Sondheim born in New York on 22nd March 1930, was inspired to write West side story based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The play is targeted to an audience of aged 15 and above as it has mature and complicated themes to understand, however if you do understand it then it is a good play to watch. 25-35 year olds will enjoy it the most as it is based on relationships and it is perhaps more appealing to the feminine side of an…