What is West Side Story based on?
West Side Story. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Stage musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. West Side Story is a musical with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
Is'West Side Story'a copy of Romeo and Juliet?
GRANT: We know that the plot of West Side Story is by no means a carbon copy of Romeo and Juliet, but when you look at West Side Story, how much of a Shakespeare connection do you see? And let’s start with you, Mark.
How did Broadway change with West Side Story?
On Sept. 26, 1957, Broadway changed forever when the curtain went up on “West Side Story.” The artistic innovations popped immediately: Instead of an overture, the orchestra played Leonard Bernstein’s jagged musical phrases, punctuated by actors snapping their fingers.
Did Leonard Bernstein write West Side Story?
Leonard Bernstein had the play Romeo and Juliet, he had a book of it, and in that book, you can still find the sketches, the notes that he wrote about how he envisioned what would become West Side Story, right Mark? HOROWITZ: Yes. And inside he’s making notes about how to turn this into a musical.
How was West Side Story influenced by Shakespeare?
It is widely known that West Side Story (WSS) is based directly on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (R&J). Far less well known is the fact that Shakespeare based his play (1594) on other material, particularly a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke entitled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562).
What classical play was the inspiration for West Side Story?
Romeo and JulietInspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
What play inspired West Side Story who wrote the play your answer?
West Side Story, American musical film, released in 1961, that was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
How does West Side Story relate to Romeo and Juliet?
Based on Shakespeare's renowned Romeo & Juliet, West Side Story, like Romeo & Juliet, is about forbidden love and romance across familial barriers in a large city, amid constant feuding on both sides, which resulted in violence and death, and finally, reconciliation between the two families, which took the resulting ...
What has West Side Story influenced?
Arguably, its greatest influence was in the theatricality of its presentation—the seamlessness and cinematic flow of its staging—and the integration of script, song, dance, and set. In its original Broadway run, West Side Story ran for 732 performances—a success, but not a smash hit.
What type of musical influences did the West Side Story have in it?
Non-classical elements of West Side Story include its use of Latin American and jazz influences. Bernstein took cues from composers like Aaron Copland and George Gershwin, who had previously integrated these musical styles in their own classical works.
What is the meaning behind West Side Story?
The original idea for “West Side Story” dates back to 1949 when Jerome Robbins conceived of a musical update of “Romeo & Juliet.” Originally set on the New York's East Side, and conceived as a societal war between Jews and Gentiles, “West Side Story” eventually morphed into a tale of two street gangs, the mostly Puerto ...
What is the main message of West Side Story?
Why they've succeeded as well as they have here is simple: They realize the core message of West Side Story is that in world racked by racism, nativism, impossible division, poverty and a lack of hope, there is still the possibility that maybe, just maybe, love can prevail.
What is the main idea of West Side Story?
West Side Story is truly everywhere -- and with its themes of love striving to rise above hatred; the fear of immigrants; and the toxicity of racism, West Side Story speaks to us today as urgently as ever.
Is West Side Story appropriate for a 9 year old?
While the movie has some important lessons and is generally entertaining, there's some violence that would make it inappropriate for kids under the age of 13 or so. There's a sexual assault scene, gang fights, and several deaths.
Is West Side Story a good adaptation of Romeo and Juliet?
Above anything and everything else, West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. There's lots of reasons to watch this film, but the genius adaptation of Shakespeare's tale of star-cross'd lovers is the big one.
What story is Romeo and Juliet based on?
The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and JulietWhat is Romeo and Juliet based on? Shakespeare's principal source for the plot of Romeo and Juliet was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a long narrative poem written in 1562 by the English poet Arthur Brooke, who had based his poem on a French translation of a tale by the Italian writer Matteo Bandello.
Who wrote the fire escape scene in West Side Story?
That of course was the scene on the fire escape from West Side Story, the 1957 smash Broadway hit adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, written and created by Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. Next year, 2018 is the 100 th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. To honor his legacy, we’ve decided ...
Who is the archivist for West Side Story?
To help us out, we’ve invited in two guests with extensive knowledge of Bernstein. Mark Horowitz is archivist for ...
What episode is Shakespeare Unlimited?
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 80. Without a doubt, American composer Leonard Bernstein’s most significant contribution to the world of Shakespeare was West Side Story, the 1957 smash Broadway hit adaptation of Romeo and Juliet written and created by Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Bernstein.
Why did Cheryl Crawford leave West Side Story?
One, you mentioned Rodgers and Hammerstein and if you think about Carousel, there’s a death on stage there, but there’s no question that as they were writing West Side Story, one of the producers of the show, Cheryl Crawford, quit because she felt the show was too dark and was concerned about that.
Who is Mark Horowitz?
Mark Horowitz is archivist for the Leonard Bernstein Collection at the Library of Congress, nearly 400,000 items including music manuscripts, letters, photographs, audio and video recordings, fan mail, and even some of the maestro’s old batons. Nigel Simeone has produced two books on Bernstein. In 2009, he wrote Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story, ...
Who was Montgomery Clift's friend?
SIMEONE: Well, he was a great friend of an actor called Montgomery Clift, and they worked together at the Actors Studio, I think in 1947. And Clift was having some sort of problem getting inside the role of Romeo, and Jerry said, “Look, let’s try this thing as a modern story, you know, imagine this is now.”.
Is there a tritone in West Side Story?
Now, yes, there are a lot of tri-tones in West Side Story, but it’s really important that we also remember that this great discovery, that it was full of tri-tones, first of all, was Sondheim’s, rather than Bernstein’s.
What year did West Side Story go up on Broadway?
On Sept. 26, 1957 , Broadway changed forever when the curtain went up on “West Side Story.”. The artistic innovations popped immediately: Instead ...
What is the story of East Side Story?
Initially, Robbins had envisioned “East Side Story,” an update to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” set as a clash between Catholics and Jews in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. When playwright Arthur Laurents joined the creative team, he saw the set-up as tired. “He worried that ‘East Side Story’ would settle into a musical version ...
What did Berson say to his agent?
Berson recounts that he expressed his hesitancy to his agent by saying: “I’ve never been poor and I’ve never even known a Puerto Rican.”. Dance scene from the Broadway musical ‘West Side Story,’ 1957. (Credit: Hank Walker/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Robbins himself had to do some research.
What did Robbins want the cast to feel?
When rehearsals began, Robbins wanted the cast, which had no established stars, to really feel like turf-defending street toughs and their girls. He instructed them to follow Method acting, a technique in which performers adopt their characters’ emotional and psychological states.
Why did Robbins forbid socializing between actors who were playing the Jets, the white gang, and
To enhance the us-versus-them mood, Robbins forbade socializing between actors who were playing the Jets, the white gang, and the Sharks, the Puerto Ricans. “Read this; this is your life,” he wrote and posted on a bulletin board along with a newspaper article about a gang killing.
How many Tony Awards did West Side Story win?
Broadway may not have been ready for “West Side Story.”. Despite its critical success, it had a modest run of 732 performances and won only two Tony Awards, for choreography and set design. The award for best musical that season went to “The Music Man,” a far more conventional show.
Where did Laurents and Bernstein stay?
A new idea came in 1955, when Laurents and Bernstein were coincidentally both staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. While lounging at the pool, they saw a newspaper headline about Chicano youth gang violence, and the immediacy of the issue set them on a discussion.
Who is the female protagonist in West Side Story?
In West Side Story, the female protagonist, Maria, is portrayed as a religious figure. She has the Spanish equivalent of the name Mary, and she is dressed in virginal white in the dance scene in... Latest answer posted July 5, 2018 12:47 pm UTC. 1 educator answer. West Side Story.
Is Tony the Romeo in West Side Story?
Tony is the Romeo equivalent in West Side Story. Though he was once a member of the Jet gang, Tony no longer affiliates with them and is more a lover than a fighter by nature. However, he still... Latest answer posted September 3, 2019 2:31 am UTC. 1 educator answer.
