West Side Story

In 1949, Jerome Robbins brought together composer Leonard Bernstein and playwright Arthur Laurents (his first experience as a librettist) to work on a modern musical version of Romeo and Juliet. Called East Side Story, it was about a Jewish boy’s star-crossed romance with an Italian Catholic girl set against the clashing street gangs on New York’s lower East Side. Heavy schedules, however forced the trio to suspend the project for six years and by the time they got together again the conflict seemed dated. Far more timely, they now felt, would be the love story of a native-born boy of Polish descent and a newly arrived Puerto Rican girl set against the clashing street gangs on the city’s West Side. At this time Bernstein decided against writing his own lyrics and he turned the task over to Stephen Sondheim, a 27-year-old Broadway neophyte. In West Side Story, Tony (Larry Kert), once the leader of the Jets street gang, now tries to keep his distance from his former group and the rival Puerto Rican Sharks. He becomes particularly committed to peaceful coexistence once he meets a girl named Maria (Carol Lawrence) at a high school dance, and — with Maria’s fire escape as a balcony — they express their mutual devotion to the soaring sentiments of “Tonight.” But after Tony kills Maria’s brother Bernardo (Ken LeRoy) while trying to break up a rumble, warfare erupts anew, and even Maria’s best friend, Anita (Chita Rivera), urges her to stay away from Tony. In the end, Tony is killed by one of the Sharks and Maria is left grieving over his body. With its galvanic choreography, compelling music and lyrics, and unflinching look at contemporary street life, West Side Story was a jolting work, not alone for its theme but for its advanced use of dance within the framework of a musical play. After cutting short its initial Broadway run to go on tour, the company returned to New York ten weeks later for an additional 249 performances. Since then there have been two major revivals. In 1968, the Music Theatre of Lincoln Center sponsored a production that ran for 89 performances. Tony was played by Kurt Peterson, Maria by Victoria Mallory, and Anita by Barbara Luna. In 1980, the musical was mounted at the Minskoff Theatre under Robbins’ direction, and had a 333-performance run. The cast was headed by Ken Marshall, Jossie de Guzman, and Debbie Allen. The film version, with Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, and Rita Moreno, was released in 1961. For other Broadway musicals based on Shakespeare, see The Boys from Syracuse, page 107. Columbia OC; DGG SC (1985)/ Random House (1958); Chilton (1973)/ MTI. JAMAICA Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg Book: E.Y. Harburg & Fred Saidy (Joseph Stein uncredited) Producer: David Merrick Driector: Robert Lewis Choreographer: Jack Cole Cast: Lena Horne, Ricardo Montalban, Josephine Premice, Adelaide Hall, Ossie Davis, Erik Rhodes, Joe Adams, Alvin Ailey, Billy Wilson Songs: “Pretty to Walk With”; “Push the Bu

"‘\— / 4 Jerome Robbins Leonard Bernstein Stephen Sondheim THE LYRICS THE DIRECTOR pom Arthur Laurents THE BOOK THE MUSIC": the show's own period marketing line.

Music

Leonard Bernstein

Lyrics

Stephen Sondheim

Book

Arthur Laurents