West Side Story (1961 film) Themes
- Loyalty. The film centers around two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. ...
- Adults vs. Kids. ...
- Immigration. Immigration is also a major theme in the film, as the members of the Sharks gang are all Puerto Rican immigrants.
- Class. ...
- Love. ...
- Violence. ...
- Racial prejudice. ...
What are the main themes in West Side Story?
West Side Story (1961 film) Themes
- Loyalty. The film centers around two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. ...
- Adults vs. Kids. ...
- Immigration. Immigration is also a major theme in the film, as the members of the Sharks gang are all Puerto Rican immigrants.
- Class. ...
- Love. ...
- Violence. ...
- Racial prejudice. ...
What is the main idea of West Side Story?
West Side Story shows how racism and xenophobia create a system that dooms the youths of working class families. And unlike the typical Broadway musical of the 1950s and before, West Side Story does not offer audiences a happy ending. Just as Romeo and Juliet are born to rival families, Tony and Maria are associated with rival gangs.
What is the mood in West Side Story?
Violence hums underneath the action of the film, as Jets and Sharks vie for the neighborhood. From the opening moment, when we see the Jets wandering through various basketball courts and parking lots, snapping and whistling, we can tell that the gang culture in the neighborhood is an intimidating and threatening one.
What is the plot of West Side Story?
Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' mixes old, new
- There's no one wearing brownface in this movie. In the original "West Side Story," many of the actors playing Puerto Rican characters were forced to wear the same dark brown ...
- Spanish is spoken much more -- and with a Puerto Rican accent. ...
- The team behind this movie tried to do their homework. ...
What is the major theme in West Side Story?
“'West Side Story' deals with themes of racism and bigotry — themes you'd think would no longer still be relevant in 2016,” says James. “But unfortunately, we are still dealing with these same bigotries.”
What is the moral lesson of West Side Story?
But Fitzgerald's direction is guided by the belief that love can overcome and conquer hate. "Love has no boundaries. Doesn't matter whether you're gay, straight, white, black, love has no blinders on. Love has no hate."
What is a West Side Story meaning?
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 are the 2 major underlying themes in WSS?
ThemesThe Oppression of Slavery and Entrapment. The specter of slavery and entrapment pervades Wide Sargasso Sea. ... The Complexity of Racial Identity. ... The Link Between Womanhood, Enslavement, and Madness.
What is the message of West Side Story 2021?
Ultimately, the message in West Side Story is that “hate begets hate.” Tony accidentally kills Bernardo, so Chino arms himself with the narrow-minded goal of killing Tony. Responding to violence with more violence will only lead to even more violence.
Why was West Side Story important?
When West Side Story debuted on Broadway in September 1957, the show immediately gained fame for its bold artistic vision and unflinching engagement with social concerns of the day: racial unrest, urban gang violence, immigration and altercations with the police.
Why does Maria still love Tony?
Instead of choosing to hate Tony, she understands that there was always going to be a death, and what happened to Bernardo was a tragic result of a deathly feud. Maria forgives Tony in West Side Story so as not to continue the cycle of pain.
Is West Side Story on Netflix?
Is West Side Story on Netflix? No, Spielberg's version of “West Side Story” is not available on Netflix. The 1961 version is also not available to stream on the provider.
Does West Side Story have a happy ending?
But the happy scene is quickly shattered as Chino comes out of the shadows and shoots Tony down. A shocked Maria threatens to kill everyone with the gun at first, but ultimately can not do it. The Jets members carry Tony's body away as police cars arrive, responding to the gunshots.
Is West Side Story just Romeo and Juliet?
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 is the West Side Story?
Follow Us: "West Side Story" presents a modern retelling of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," the classic tale of two young lovers caught on the wrong sides of a dangerous feud. The story follows the rise and fall of a romance set against cultural tension and gang violence in 1950s New York.
What is the plot of the movie "The Jets"?
This plot includes themes of romantic love, hatred, violence, and racial and ethnic prejudice.
What is the West Side Story musical about?
It was inspired by William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet . The story is set in the mid 1950s in the Upper West Side of New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood.
What year was West Side Story made?
Further information: West Side Story (1961 film) The 1961 film adaptation of the musical received praise from critics and the public and became the second-highest-grossing film of the year in the United States. The film won ten Academy Awards in its eleven nominated categories, including Best Picture.
How many players were in the original West Side Story orchestra?
The original orchestra consisted of 31 players: a large Broadway pit orchestra enhanced to include 5 percussionists, a guitarist and a piano/ celesta player. In 1960, Bernstein prepared a suite of orchestral music from the show, titled Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
How many times was Wild Side Story performed?
From 1973 to 2004, Wild Side Story, a camp parody musical, based loosely on West Side Story and adapting parts of the musical's music and lyrics, was performed a total of more than 500 times in Miami Beach, Florida, Stockholm, Gran Canaria and Los Angeles.
Where was East Side Story set?
Bernstein suggested they rework East Side Story and set it in Los Angeles, but Laurents felt he was more familiar with Puerto Ricans in the United States and Harlem than he was with Mexican Americans and Olvera Street. The two contacted Robbins, who was enthusiastic about a musical with a Latin beat.
When will West Side Story be released on Broadway?
A Broadway revival of West Side Story began previews on December 10, 2019, and officially opened on February 20, 2020, at the Broadway Theatre. It is directed by Ivo van Hove, with choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and is produced by Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen. The cast includes Shereen Pimentel as Maria, Isaac Cole Powell as Tony, Amar Ramasar as Bernardo, Thomas Jay Ryan as Lt. Schrank and Yesenia Ayala as Anita, who is also set to appear in the upcoming film remake. Scenic and lighting design are by Jan Versweyveld, with costumes by An d'Huys.
Who composed West Side Story and Candide?
Bernstein composed West Side Story and Candide concurrently, which led to some switches of material between the two works. Tony and Maria's duet, "One Hand, One Heart", was originally intended for Cunegonde in Candide. The music of " Gee, Officer Krupke " was pulled from the Venice scene in Candide.
What is a supersummary of West Side Story?
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
When did West Side Story come out?
When West Side Story opened on Broadway in 1957, it was a new kind of musical. At the time, the phrase “Broadway musical” was synonymous with “musical comedy.”. Musical theatre typically took a lighthearted approach, even when broaching serious issues. But West Side Story, perhaps one of the most famous adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Romeo ...
Is West Side Story a happy ending?
And unlike the typical Broadway musical of the 1950s and before, West Side Story does not offer audiences a happy ending. Just as Romeo and Juliet are born to rival families, Tony and Maria are associated with rival gangs. Tony is a Jet, a gang of American-born youths led by his best friend, Riff.
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 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 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.
What is the 60th anniversary of West Side Story?
As “West Side Story” celebrates its 60th anniversary, it stands as more than art: It was an artistic confrontation of social issues from immigration and bigotry to economic inequality and gang violence. But it didn’t quite start out that way.
Did the actors dance in West Side Story?
Actors danced throughout the show not just for aesthetic effect, but to express themselves, a new storytelling approach by director and choreographer Jerome Robbins. And in what was an unheard of for a musical at the time, the show ended not with a send-em-home-happy finale, but with a heartbreaking death. As “West Side Story” celebrates its 60th ...
Overview
West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired 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
Background
In 1949, Jerome Robbins approached Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents about collaborating on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, during the Easter–Passover season. The girl has survived the Holocaust and emigrated fr…
Synopsis
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). Police officers Krupke and Lt. Schrank warn them 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' le…
Characters
• Riff, the leader
• Tony, Riff's best friend
• Diesel, Riff's lieutenant
• Action, A-Rab, Baby John, Big Deal, Gee-Tar, Mouthpiece, Snowboy, Tiger and Anybodys
Musical numbers
Notes
• In the 1964 and 1980 revivals, "Somewhere" was sung by Francisca rather than Consuelo.
• In the 2009 revival, "Cool" was performed by Riff, the Jets, and the Jet Girls. "I Feel Pretty" was sung in Spanish as "Me siento hermosa" and "A Boy Like That" was sung in Spanish as "Un hombre así". They were changed back to their English lyrics midway through the run. "Somewhere" was sung …
Productions
After tryouts in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia beginning in August 1957, the original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, 1957, to positive reviews. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, orchestrated by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, and produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, with lighting designed by Jean …
Critical reaction
The creators' innovations in dance, music and theatrical style drew enthusiastic reactions from the critics. Walter Kerr wrote in the New York Herald Tribune on September 27, 1957:
The radioactive fallout from West Side Story must still be descending on Broadway this morning. Director, choreographer, and idea-man Jerome Robbins has put together, and then blasted apart, the most savage, restless, electrifying dance patterns we've been exposed to in a dozen season…
Score
Bernstein's score for West Side Story blends "jazz, Latin rhythms, symphonic sweep and musical-comedy conventions in groundbreaking ways for Broadway". It was orchestrated by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal following detailed instructions from Bernstein, who then wrote revisions on their manuscript (the original, heavily annotated by Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein himself is in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at Columbia University). Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein are billed a…