Tensions exist between the jets, a selfstyled american street gang, and the sharks, a group of young puerto ricans. It was inspired by william shakespeares play romeo and juliet. Synopsis courtesy of mtishakespeares romeo and juliet is transported to modernday new york city, as two young idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the american jets and the puerto rican sharks. As noted in filmfacts, the stage version of the musical play opened on broadway on september 26. West side story 1961 film study guide contains a biography of robert wise, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. West side story was directed and choreographed by the innovative jerome robbins, who stated in an added feature presentation in the 2003 dvd release that he had been interested in creating a contemporary version of william shakespeares romeo and juliet since the late 1940s and that arthur laurents, the shows writer, and composer leonard.
Books by arthur laurents author of west side story edition. The album is a concept album, a soundtrack album to a nonexistent crime film the music is almost completely instrumental except for occasional screams, vocal samples and a choir. Crazy to think that what happens takes place in that time frame. For many years ive avoided writing about west side story. Wow it has been a terribly long time since i last made a west side story so here this is to make up for that and i need to keep up on it cause my other two west side stories havent been updated since last year or the year before. Musical theatre typically took a lighthearted approach, even when broaching serious issues. More differences another difference that i noticed was what they were fighting for in the outsiders, the two groups are fighting just to pretty much fight while in west side story, they fight for territory and girls some differences both of the stories include gangs, but in the.
Above anything and everything else, west side story is a retelling of romeo and juliet. Once more, the clan of the montagues are at odds with the capulets. Every song from west side story is a a musical miracle thanks to bernstein and sondheim, but somewhere is its soaringly utopian anthem deserving to be played forever. Arthur laurents has 27 books on goodreads with 6955 ratings. Directed and choreographed by jerome robbins, the show was written by composer leonard bernstein, librettist arthur laurents, and lyricist.
Theres lots of reasons to watch this film, but the genius adaptation of shakespeares tale of starcrossd lovers is the big one. Swain spend an entire chapter on the analysis of west side story. The tragedy of love thwarted by fate has always intrigued writers. Choose from west side story sheet music for such popular songs as somewhere, maria, and somethings coming.
West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. West side story tells a story of how tony a polish america who used to lead the local gang, the jets and maria a puerto rican teen part of the rivaling gang find love despite their backgrounds and public opinions. West side story is a musical with a book by arthur laurents, music by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim. Interesting facts about the creation of west side story message board. Although west side story is a direct rendition of shakespeares original play, many of the themes and symbols are altered to fit the modern perspective. About west side story editors note characters and vocal ranges original broadway production credits and cast list leonard bernste.
West side story summary and study guide supersummary. Somewhere from west side story sheet music for beginners. Where did the jets and the sharks decide to meet for their war council. His original score to the episode netflix series green eggs and ham was released in november 2019, and he is currently arranging and underscoring for steven spielbergs reimagining of the west side story film, set to be released in december 2020. Tony and maria is like romeo and juliet, who fall in love with each other, although they. The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the. It is a testament to the musical and theatrical brilliance of west side story that this teenage urban love story, set to shakespeares classic romeo and juliet, has survived its outmoded 50sstyle book arthur laurents replete with dead end kids posturings and corny, streetwise lingo i still cringe when i. Print instantly, or sync to our free pc, web and mobile apps. Bernardo is kind of like tybalt, always trying to pick a fight. Posts about west side story written by gracebuttler. Plot summary for west side story 1961, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter maria.
If youre in the mood for a timeless love story, listen to west side story. These include questions which involve close reading, writing and discussion. If one of you was lying in the street bleeding, id walk by and spit on you. Shakespeare reimagined a modern day romeo and juliet. Play eatteaate the play, west side story, was written by arthur laurents.
No matter who or what is eatin you, man, you show it and you are dead. Find books like west side story from the worlds largest community of readers. At the time, the phrase broadway musical was synonymous with musical comedy. They are getting ready for the party thats in a few hours. This series of contemporary plays includes structured gcse assignments for use by individuals or groups.
West side story is groundbreaking in a lot of ways, but when it comes to delivering the information, it tends to rely on the triedandtrue technique of moving to the character we need to see when we need to see him or her, then moving back as the story demands. Orchestra, vocal, voice sheet music book by leonard bernstein 19181990. The story is set in the upper west side neighborhood in new york city in the mid 1950s, a multiracial, bluecollar neighborhood. It was inspired by william shakespeare s play romeo and juliet. West side story by bernstein, leonard and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The show opened on august 19, 1957, at the national theatre in washington, dc, and later moved to broadways winter garden theater on september 26.
Read a character analysis of juliet, plot summary, and important quotes. On the other hand, in the rise and fall of the broadway musical, mark grant concentrates on the growth of the musical in light of changes in technology and music, and in writing the book and lyrics. Whiteness of another color, jacobson white ethnicity is deployed throughout west side story not so much as a marker of difference but as suggestive of mere variety in a way that consolidates whiteness and accentuates the distance between whiteness and its racial others. West side story score to be played by philharmonic the. The same day bernstein saw his first runthrough of west side story, he signed his contract to become the first americanborn music director and conductor of the new york philharmonic on a somewhat humorous note, the conductor for west side story s opening run, former philadelphia orchestra violinist max goberman, had it written into his contract that lenny was not. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Baby john, portrayed as feminine, sensitive, and unwilling to assault anita, was coded as gay. A classical story with a modern setting, it still stands as one of the major contributions of the american theater. West side story 1961 soundtrack complete list of songs. I honestly liked this book because it was a quick read with a good plot. Tara16rider marias pov set after the end of west side story with inspiration from the 1961 film and natalie wood. When west side story opened on broadway in 1957, it was a new kind of musical. Random house firm, the feud between two new york teenage gangs abruptly ends the brief happiness shared by maria, a puerto rican girl, and tony, a member of the jets.
Summary read a plot overview of the entire play or a scene by scene summary and analysis. Several permutations of the title reflected changes in geography and emphasis. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. West side story is the awardwinning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy romeo and juliet. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film. West side story by irving shulman goodreads share book. First performed around 1596, romeo and juliet has been adapted as a ballet, an opera, the musical west side story, and a dozen films. I need to read the book by friday, saturday at the latest and i cant find it anywhere. Anita is marias friend and, so far, has nothing to do with the plot. The feuding families become two warring new york city gangsthe white jets led by riff and the latino sharks, led by bernardo. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. Interesting facts about the creation of west side story.
Its success as a motion picture was equally spectacular. All 38 songs from the west side story 1961 movie soundtrack, with scene descriptions. Should i just watch the movie, if so, where can i watch it. West side story by irving shulman, 1967, pocket books edition, in english west side story 1967 edition open library. Shulman also wrote the original treatment for rebel without a cause, the film that shot james dean to stardom. West side story based on a conception of jerome robbins book by music by lyrics by arthur leonard stephen laurents bernstein sondheim choreography by jerome robbins rehearsal script as of october 21, 2008. The d part just has some of the melody notes up an octave from the 1st book with rests during the rest of the melody notes. He is the author of ten books, including the novels the amboy dukes, cry tough, and the square trap, which were all adapted into. About west side story west side story, which opened on september 26, 1957, is a landmark in american musical theatre history. Ive ordered it, but it will arrive too late and i need to do a book project on it. Moss side story is the debut album of british musician barry adamson released in 1989.
On a hot late1950s summer in new yorks upper west side, william shakespeares timeless story of romeo and juliet 1968 comes to life, as a fierce enmity between two antagonistic street gangs paves the way for heartbreak and tragedy. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 3 in this chapter, anita is making the dress for maria. Bernsteins timeless music from west side story is woven together in this exceptional medley of songs from his bestknown musical. Goodreads members who liked west side story also liked.
This 39page guide for west side story by irving shulman includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 2 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. The reason is, during those d parts, the 1st book is playing the allimportant melody. Man, you wanna get past the cops when they start askin you about tonight. Tennent production with david holliday as tony and jill martin as. Feb 18, 2016 complete casting has been announced for carnegie halls largescale revival of west side story, which will be presented march 46 at the knockdown center, a restored 50,000squarefoot factory. West side story, the movie, was produced in 1961, featured natalie wood as maria, and was directed by robert wise and jerome robbins. Greys of stories zane cowboy western the vg dell 27 west 1955 1955 west 27 greys the vg western of dell zane stories cowboy. West side other story chapter 1 melanie1982 west side. The story is set in the upper west side neighborhood in new york city in the mid 1950s, an ethnic, bluecollar neighborhood in the early 1960s, much of the. Two perennial classicswilliam shakespeares romeo and juliet and the broadway musical west side story in a single volume. This is music audiences love to hear, and has become so much a part of the american musical experience.
A grim take on west side story ivo van hoves new interpretation of the iconic musical is an infuriating example of what happens when a powerful style calcifies into shtick. Performances for three hit musical broadways including west side story. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Followfav west side story somewhere a place for you maria by. Sep 07, 2011 the score as a whole was nearly as daring for the film as it had been for the stage, wrote misha berson in her book somethings coming, something good. West side story, book by irving shulman mass market. Listen to and download the music, ost, score, list of songs and trailers. West side story dive into the world of the iconic musical. To achieve the soundtrack effect, the song titles are descriptive of a film noir plot outline. I feel there were a lot of untold stories within the framework of west side story.
After owning their miserable little neighborhood for years, the jets, the fingersnapping street gang led by riff russ tamblyn, find themselves in a turf war with the upstart puerto rican sharks, led by bernardo george chakiris. The resulting film was a tremendous critical as well as commercial successwises biggest hit to dateand received 10 academy awards, including best picture. West side story full score by leonard bernstein 19181990. Bernardo stabs riff and kills him, then tony, in a fit of rage, stabs and kills bernardo. She is the girlfriend of bernardo and a close friend and confidante to his sister maria. The stories are very similar, but west side story has an irresistible urban appeal, an appeal that has been capturing audiences and listeners for many decades.
Irving shulman 191995 was a novelist and screenwriter, known for his depictions of urban life. Books similar to west side story goodreads share book. There are some major differences between the two works. In the sixteenth century, william shakespeare took this theme and fashioned one of the worlds great plays. He is the author of ten books, including the novels the amboy dukes, cry tough, and the square trap, which were all adapted into movies.
It is a tale of two rival gangs, which despises the other in a vicious circle of hate. Arthur laurentss most popular book is romeo and juliet and west side story. As a puerto rican critic, i resent the expectation that i have something to say about a. Playing west side story with small pit orchestra view topic. Romeo and juliet study guide west side story, and a dozen films. A summary of west side story 378 words 123 help me. In the summer of 2012 i got the amazing opportunity to perform at the bbc proms with the national youth orchestra of wales in collaboration with the bbc national orchestra of wales.
West side story chapter 4 instead bernardo is kind of. Buy the mass market paperback book west side story by irving shulman at indigo. Aug 30, 1987 west side story, with book by arthur laurents, music by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim, is a powerful work of american musical theater. Its only supposed to be bernardo and ice using their fists, but when tony arrives to stop it, things escalate. Shop and buy west side story full score sheet music. You are cuttin a hole in yourselves for them to stick in a red hot umbrella and open it. In my book club we took the comparison between this and the outsides. Very interesting to compare contrast on that side of the. West side story began on the broadway stage and was immediately recognized as one of the most creative musical productions of the 20th century. Shakespeares romeo and juliet and west side story both have a lot in common as well as major differences that set them apart. The names behind the jets and sharks posted on october 18, 2016 by jnpickens when i was 14 in 2002, i watched west side story for the first time and became obsessed with the movie musical, which premiered 55 years ago in new york city on oct. West side story somewhere a place for you maria chapter 7, a. All concerts and public events through june have been cancelled. West side story, the university of illinois, champaign, il west side story tickets book your west side discount tickets at cheap rate from askaticket i love this pin of west side story.
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