West Side Story is a musical written by Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and was originally produced, choreographed, and directed by Jerome Robbins. West Side Story debuted on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater on September 26, 1957 and played 732 performances before going on tour - a very successful run for the time.
Plot Description
The plot borrows from William Shakespeare''s Romeo and Juliet, in that the brother of a gang leader falls in love with the sister of a rival gang''s leader.
The dark theme, sophisticated music, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in English language musical theatre, which had previously (with rare exceptions) tended toward light and fluffy themes. West Side Story is still produced frequently by local theatres and is occasionally produced by classical opera companies.
Bernstein''s score for the musical has been extremely popular. Some of the songs include "Something''s Coming," "Maria," "America," "Somewhere," "Tonight," "Gee, Officer Krupke," "I Feel Pretty," "One Hand, One Heart," and "Cool." Some music he wrote but did not use later became integrated into the Chichester Psalms.
The original 1957 stage production starred Larry Kert as Tony and Carol Lawrence as Maria.
A 1980 Broadway revival starred Debbie Allen as Anita. A 1987 tour starred Jack Wagner as Tony. A 1995 tour starred Marcie Harriell as Maria and H.E. Greer as Tony. A 1998 tour starred Rikki Lee Travolta as Tony. A 2002 tour starred Natasha Harper as Maria.
George Chakiris, who won an Academy Award as Bernardo in the 1961 film version of West Side Story, originated the role of Riff in the 1958 London stage premier. [top]
Awards
Academy Award for Best Picture - Robert Wise, producer
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - George Chakiris
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - Rita Moreno
Academy Award for Best Art Direction- Set Decoration, Color - Victor A. Gangelin, and Boris Leven
Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color - Daniel L. Fapp
Academy Award for Costume Design, Color - Irene Sharaff
Academy Award for Directing - Jerome Robbins, and Robert Wise
Academy Award for Film Editing - Thomas Stanford
Academy Award for Original Music Score, of a Musical Picture - Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal, and Sid Ramin
Academy Award for Sound - Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD), and Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)
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