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 t…
Opened
1957
Performances
732
Type
Musical
Era
Golden Age
Music: Leonard BernsteinLyrics: Stephen SondheimBook: Arthur Laurents
Music Theatre International
West Side Storymatched on title alone: a lead, not a confirmed licensor
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West Side Story, found by keyword across 178 books. It's where this show turns up
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Another hopeful sign is the number of opera companies that have added musical theatre works to their repertoires. Not only does this help break down artificial barriers, it also creates new audiences for such notable examples as the Kern-Hammerstein Show Boat , the Gershwin-Heyward Porgy and Bess , the Rodgers-Hammerst…
book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-seventh-edition-stanley-green-cary-ginell#p13
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.
book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-seventh-edition-stanley-green-cary-ginell#p170
Green Day leader Billie Joe Armstrong designed the album with a story in mind that linked the songs together; for this, he drew inspiration from Broadway shows like Britain’s Rocky Horror Show and America’s West Side Story.
book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-seventh-edition-stanley-green-cary-ginell#p360
West Side Story (1957) and Sensations(1970), both from Romeo and Juliet; Kiss Me, Kate (1948), from The Taming of the Shrew; Swingin'the Dream (1939) and Babes in the Wood(1964), both from A Midsummer Night's Dream; Love and Let Love (1968), Your Own Thing (1968), and Music Is (1976), all from Twelfth Night; Two Gentle…
book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-green-stanley-green-kay-5th-ed-rev-and-updated-by#p131
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.
book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-green-stanley-green-kay-5th-ed-rev-and-updated-by#p199
Leonard Bernstein’s Candide (1956) and West Side Story (1957).
book:complete-book-of-1950s-broadway-musicals-the-dan-dietz#p4
