WEST SIDE STORY

Setting
West Side Story (1961) is an energetic, widely-acclaimed, melodramatic musical - a modern-day,
loose re-telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet tragedy of feuding families, although the setting is
the Upper West Side of New York City in the late 1950s with conflict between rival street gangs
rather than families. West Side Story is still one of the best film adaptations of a musical ever created,
and the finest musical film of the 60s. It arrived at a time when the silver screen was realizing
tremendous competition from TV and other genres of cinematic entertainment.

During the opening prologue, a breathtaking aerial shot of Manhattan from a bird's eye view captures
the city with its bridge traffic and highway ramps, its waterfront docks, parks and skyscrapers. The
camera passes over recognizable landmarks as it moves steadily to the Upper West Side of
Manhattan, and then speedily zooms down and plunges into a concrete playground. A gang of 'cool'
white youths are posed together in one corner of a basketball court, clicking their fingers to the
syncopated rhythm of the musical score. The aggressive gang members leave the fenced-in
playground and cross the tenement street.

In the famous, dazzling opening sequence, they gradually break into a highly-stylized dance and then
burst into a daring, high-stepping sequence - an exhilarating, inventive, visual ballet of pirouettes,
vigorous athletic moves, and running jumps that symbolizes their dominance and energy - they are
readying themselves for a gang brawl.

MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS

1. Prologue
2. Jet Song
3. Something's Coming
4. The Dance at the Gym (Blues, Promenade, Mambo, Cha-Cha, Meeting Scene, Jump)
5. Maria
6. America
7. Cool
8. One Hand, One Heart
9. Tonight
10. The Rumble
11. I Feel Pretty
12. Ballet Sequence (Scherzo, Somewhere, Procession and Nightmare)
13. Gee, Officer Krupke
14. A Boy Like That - I Have a Love
15. Taunting Scene
16. Finale

Sound Is a key element for West Side Story, which Is a musical. The Music Itself Is excellent and
follows the moon of the actors well. But the structure of the songs Is very hard to understand and it
was hard to figure out what was going on in the mind of the characters. And since music dominated
the entire film, it eliminated the sense realism, But the songs were appeasing to the ears were catchy,
the key to success while making a popular film. Costuming, makeup, and setting are one of the most
effective tools in creating a sense of realism and they did their job in this movie. It was apparent from
the start of the movie that this took place in the inner city. Due to the Lighting, use of shadows and the
dull yet vivid backgrounds that depicted the inner city. The graffiti, jagged fences. And broken,
crumbly walls also had an astounding effect.
Speaking parts were seldom used in the movie. Almost all emotion was expressed through song and
dance. But when used they were very simple. For example, in the scene where the Jets meet with the
Sharks at Doc’s place to discuss the rumble, they used 3 (three) word sentences like: Where should
we fight? With what? When? Yeah, it was easy for the audience to follow the speech but lessened on
realism. The plot of the movie was really good and refreshing.

ROLE OF COMPOSERS AND LYRICIST

Conceived in 1949, West Side Story has a serious message that pleads for racial tolerance, delivered
in unforgettable song and dance. People have been listening to that message, and humming the
songs, ever since the show premiered on Broadway in 1957 and debuted on the silver screen in 1961.

Composer Leonard Bernstein and his co-creators, Jerome Robbins (director, choreographer and
original idea-man) Arthur Laurents (who wrote the book) and Stephen Sondheim (lyricist) aimed for
lofty ideals in the show’s themes and every detail of its production. But West Side Story, winner of
two Tony and 10 Academy Awards, has endured because it's also incredibly entertaining

When they first conceived the show in 1949, Robbins, Bernstein and Laurents set their story on the
east side of Manhattan, and gave it the working title East Side Story. They planned to stage the
conflict between rival Catholic and Jewish groups.

However, this concept never gained traction, and the project foundered until 1955, when teenage
Latin gang violence in L.A. made the news. Laurents then presented the idea of changing the conflict
to involve Puerto-Rican versus white gangs on the then-grungy Upper West Side of Manhattan. All
at once, the project took off.

ROLE OF THE PERFORMERS

The Jets

 Riff, the leader

 Tony, Riff's best friend
 Diesel (Ice in film), Riff's lieutenant
 Action, A-Rab, Baby John, Big Deal, Gee-Tar, Mouthpiece, Snowboy, Tiger and Anybodys
The Jet Girls

 Velma, Riff's girlfriend[28]

 Graziella, Diesel's girlfriend
 Minnie, Clarice and Pauline
The Sharks

 Bernardo, the leader

 Chino, his best friend
 Pepe, second-in-command
 Indio, Luis, Anxious, Nibbles, Juano, Toro and Moose
The Shark Girls

 Maria, Bernardo's sister

 Anita, Bernardo's girlfriend
 Rosalia, Consuelo, Teresita, Francisca, Estella and Marguerita
The Adults

 Doc, owner of the local drugstore/soda shop

 Schrank, racist local police lieutenant
 Krupke, neighborhood cop and Schrank's right-hand man
 Glad Hand, well meaning social worker in charge of the dance

Two rival teenage gangs, the Jets (White Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans), struggle for
control of their neighborhood on the Upper West Side of New York City (Prologue). They are
warned by police officers Krupke and Lt. Schrank to stop fighting on their beat. The police chase the
Sharks off, and then the Jets plan how they can assure their continued dominance of the street. The
Jets' leader, Riff, suggests setting up a rumble with the Sharks. He plans to make the challenge to
Bernardo, the Sharks' leader, that night at the neighborhood dance. Riff wants to convince his best
friend and former member of the Jets, Tony, to meet the Jets at the dance. Some of the Jets are
unsure of his loyalty, but Riff is adamant that Tony is still one of them ("Jet Song"). Riff meets Tony
while he's working at Doc's Drugstore to persuade him to come. Tony initially refuses, but Riff wins
him over. Tony is convinced that something important is round the corner ("Something's Coming").

Maria works in a bridal shop with Anita, the girlfriend of her brother, Bernardo. Maria has just
arrived from Puerto Rico for her arranged marriage to Chino, a friend of Bernardo's. Maria confesses
to Anita that she is not in love with Chino. Anita makes Maria a dress to wear to the neighborhood
dance.

At the dance, after introductions, the teenagers begin to dance; soon a challenge dance is called
("Dance at the Gym"), during which Tony and Maria (who aren't taking part in the challenge dance)
see each other across the room and are drawn to each other. They dance together, forgetting the
tension in the room, and fall in love, but Bernardo pulls his sister from Tony and sends her home.
Riff and Bernardo agree to meet for a War Council at Doc's, a drug store which is considered neutral
ground, but meanwhile, an infatuated and happy Tony finds Maria's building and serenades her
outside her bedroom ("Maria"). She appears on her fire escape, and the two profess their love for one
another ("Tonight"). Meanwhile, Anita, Rosalia, and the other Shark girls discuss the differences
between the territory of Puerto Rico and the mainland United States of America, with Anita
defending America, and Rosalia yearning for Puerto Rico ("America").

The Jets get antsy while waiting for the Sharks inside Doc's Drugstore. Riff helps them let out their
aggression ("Cool"). The Sharks arrive to discuss weapons to use in the rumble. Tony suggests "a
fair fight" (fists only), which the leaders agree to, despite the other members' protests. Bernardo
believes that he will fight Tony, but must settle for fighting Diesel, Riff's second-in-command,
instead. This is followed by a monologue by the ineffective Lt. Schrank trying to find out the
location of the rumble. Tony tells Doc about Maria. Doc is worried for them while Tony is
convinced that nothing can go wrong; he is in love.

The next day, Maria is in a very happy mood at the bridal shop, as she anticipates seeing Tony again.
However, she learns about the upcoming rumble from Anita and is dismayed. When Tony arrives,
Maria asks him to stop the fight altogether, which he agrees to do. Before he goes, they dream of
their wedding ("One Hand, One Heart"). Tony, Maria, Anita, Bernardo and the Sharks, and Riff and
the Jets all anticipate the events to come that night ("Tonight Quintet"). The gangs meet under the
highway and, as the fight between Bernardo and Diesel begins, Tony arrives and tries to stop it.
Though Bernardo taunts and provokes Tony, ridiculing his attempt to make peace, Tony keeps his
composure. When Bernardo pushes Tony, Riff punches him in Tony's defense. The two draw their
switchblades and get in a fight ("The Rumble"). Tony attempts to intervene, inadvertently leading to
Riff being fatally stabbed by Bernardo. Tony kills Bernardo in a fit of rage, which in turn provokes
an all-out fight like the fight in the Prologue. The sound of approaching police sirens is heard, and
everyone scatters, except Tony, who stands in shock at what he has done. The tomboy Anybody’s,
who stubbornly wishes that she could become a Jet, tells Tony to flee from the scene at the last
moment and flees with the knives. Only the bodies of Riff and Bernardo remain.

ROLE OF THE AUDIENCE

For the audience, one major piece of the show was the costumes. The audience was exposed to
different pieces of clothing, and the different personalities that don them. From the orange bandanas
used to identify the Jets to Anita’s ravishing purple dance dress, the show is full of intricate costumes
that have audiences wondering what will come next. It is appropriate too, for Maria and the purposes
of the show that her friends and family work at the bridal shop in town. It is there her and Tony share
a scene where Anita (played by Michelle Alves) finds out the two of them are involved – and tries to
dissuade Maria from seeing him again.
Another key part of the show, that is central to the story of Maria and Tony, are the racial tensions in
the Upper West Side. West Side Story is set in a time where the United States experiences an influx of
immigrants from Europe, especially Eastern Europe, and Latin America. It was during this time the
U.S. was the epicenter for the American Dream – the promise of a better future for the immigrant
families.
Throughout the show, the audience was exposed to the crass and harsh nature of the strained
relationship between the Jets and Sharks. There is a very real dynamic of prejudice the audience is left
with in the way the Jets and Shark despise each other – simply because one does not like the other.
This comes to a high point in Act II, where Bernardo (played by Andrés Acosta) and Riff (played by
Theo Lencicki) fight and Tony, attempting to stop them, kills Bernardo.
The sting from betraying his love, Maria, by killing her brother proves to be difficult, but Maria
forgives him – in effect, she has turned her back on family. Anita reminds Maria about the importance
of family when she comes to visit her after Maria and Tony spend a night together. It is in this place
of the show we see Anita having a change of heart, for she herself has lost a love and understands how
difficult Maria’s predicament is.
Anita even goes so far as to look for Tony at Doc’s, where she comes to inform Tony about Chino
(played by Juan Torres-Falcon) shooting Maria for her affair with him. And though she is met with
the Jets’ disrespectful demeanor toward the “PRs” (Puerto Ricans), by the end of the show, Anita,
along with the rest of the cast, is shamed by how death is the result of bitter rivalries that were created
through ignorance.
West Side Story managed to capture both couples and families, despite it being the day before
Thanksgiving. Audience members like Meg Wertin brought her daughters Logan, Tatum and Mcall
from Litchfield to see the musical. None of the sisters had watched the movie, so this was their first
time seeing the show in any form.

SOUND AND MUSICAL DIRECTION

Leonard Bernstein was a composer who was able to write music in many different styles, including
classical, pop and jazz. In many of his works you can hear all these styles combined into one piece.
Think about some of the music you listen to today. Many songs borrow from different styles of music.
For example, a country western song might have some blues influence. When something has an effect
on something else that is considered an influence. Bernstein's music was influenced by many of the
things he had heard - and even read -- before

Perhaps Leonard Bernstein's most famous work is West Side Story, a musical first presented in 1957
on Broadway in New York City and later made into a film in 1961. The works he composed for the
musical were influenced by classical, jazz and popular styles, including music composed by
Hispanics. West Side Story was also influenced by a very famous play written in the late 16th
century by William Shakespeare.

SCRIPT AND SCREENPLAY

West Side Story is the award-winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, "Romeo and
Juliet". The feuding families become two warring New York City gangs- the white Jets led by Riff
and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can
coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riff's best friend (and former Jet) Tony and
Bernardo's younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love. Maria
and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Then the Sharks and Jets plan a rumble
under the highway - whoever wins gains control of the streets. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping it
can end the violence. It goes terribly wrong, and before the lovers know what's happened, tragedy
strikes and doesn't stop until the climactic and heartbreaking ending.

One memorable scene In the West Side Story was that first love scene between Tony And Marl.
Love at first sight could happen and happens every day. This shadows Shakespearean writing
qualities most notably found In Romeo And Juliet Great movies emerge when most of the said
elements are met. West Side Story is a good movie. It doesn’t meet all of the important elements of
film. It wasn’t a good movie, but a good story with memorable characters that ended up touching our
hearts.

PROPS, COSTUMES AND LIGHTNING

THE sharply snapping fingers of sauntering hoodlums set up a menacing rhythm as the Jets and the
Sharks, the two street gangs of ''West Side Story,'' take over the Westbury Music Fair's center stage.
It is this ability to grip and then hold an audience that makes this one of the most vibrant productions
of the musical to be seen since the original overwhelmed Broadway.

''West Side Story,'' with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen
Sondheim, is a powerful work of American musical theater. It is filled with love songs such as
''Maria,'' ''Tonight'' and ''One Hand, One Heart,'' exciting choreography and a story that brings tears
even to the eyes of cynical theater critics.

The play is an updated version of Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet,'' that tragedy of young love in
which prejudice and hatred govern fate. In ''West Side Story,'' the warfare is between white youths
and Puerto Ricans. Their hostility and rage are as intense as was the conflict between Shakespeare's
patrician Capulets and Montagues.

Unfortunately, although the West Side of Manhattan, once ruled by street gangs, is now filled with
trendy boutiques and elegant restaurants, the elements of urban poverty and racial discord that create
the environment of ''West Side Story'' are still making headlines. This musical is, sad to say, as
topical now as it was in 1957.

This talent has the dual effect of enriching the Bernstein music while setting off an explosion of
teen-age hormones in the audience. Actually, his young fans don't wait for him to sing; all he has to
do is walk on stage and a ripple of giggles, sighs, soft moans and snapping gum drown the
immediately following dialogue. Much to his credit, Mr. Wagner never breaks character to pander to
his fans as a lesser actor or bigger ego might do. He works hard and successfully to give life and
passion to Tony, the young Jet who tragically falls in love with a sister of the leader of the Sharks.

Lauri Landry, one of the stars of the soap opera ''Another World,'' gives us a Maria who is slightly
more simpering than sympathetic, although she has a pleasant voice and is more than capable of
delivering the proper emotional shading to a song when it is required.

The mainstay of the supporting cast is Valarie Pettiford, whose Anita is spicy, sensual and full of
fire. She is an exciting actress who has a special quality needed to ignite a number such as
''America.'' Another cast standout is Lisa Leguillou, who plays Anybodys, the tough teen-age girl
who longs to play boys' games. Miss Leguillou's Anybodys is a curly-haired gamin who looks like
the sad-eyed pet you always hope to adopt from the animal shelter.
Mark Bove as Action, one of the Jets, almost stops the show with his first-rate comic rendition of
''Gee, Officer Krupke.'' Of the adults, Carl Don is fine as Doc, the adult who cares what happens to
the kids, but Daniel P. Hannafin and Glenn Dube give lackluster performances as Lieutenant
Schrank and Officer Krupke, respectively.

Mr. Wagner plays the lead, but the real star of this ''West Side Story'' is the director-choreographer
Alan Johnson. His adaptation of the great Jerome Robbins's original direction and choreography
gives this revival the freshness and spark it needs to make it far more than just another production of
a very familiar musical.

Mr. Johnson never lets the show slow down, nor does it ever get maudlin over its tragic events.
Rather, his production races like a brakeless locomotive from overture to tragic ending. He creates a
sense of relentless, unstoppable fate bearing down on teen-agers powerless to understand or to
change the course of their lives. Mr. Johnson's is a dynamic revival of the theatrical treasure.

The Music Fair is a theater in the round, which poses certain technical and design nightmares to
production people. In this case, however, the technical crew moved the set and props on and off
during the multiple scene changes with such speed and seeming effortlessness that they made the
work look like a natural part of the evening.

The spare use of scenery on a round stage can sometimes detract from a play by exposing weakness
in the script. In this case the opposite is true, and the lush music and glorious choreography,
unencumbered by sets, seem to soar. Marc B. Weiss's lighting makes up in mood for much of what is
lost in the scenery, while Gail Cooper-Hecht's costume design provides elegant color combinations
that offer nonstop swirls of yellows, blues, faded denims and pale pinks with surprising touches of
violet and red.

''When you're a hit, you're a hit all the way,'' according to the show's publicity, and ''West Side Story''
is officially sold out. But if it is extended or brought back, you will do yourself a favor by seeing it.
It is regional musical theater at its best.