It was inspired by william shakespeares play romeo and juliet the story is set in the upper west side neighborhood in new york city in the mid 1950s, a multiracial, bluecollar neighborhood. And he, who had been seeking something beyond the savagery of the streets, discovered it with her. 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. West side story is a musical with a book by arthur laurents, music by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim. Social issues in west side story the odyssey online. West side story was the kind of musical people thought was good for them, a pious expression of admirable but unrealistic liberal sentiments, and certainly its. Sideways stories from wayside school is a 1978 childrens short story cycle novel by american author louis sachar, and the first book in the wayside school series. Tensions exist between the jets, a selfstyled american street gang, and the sharks, a group of young puerto ricans. The book west side story written by arthur laurents is set in the mid 1950s, created as modern version of shakespeares romeo and juliet. West side story summary and study guide supersummary. When west side story opened on broadway in 1957, it was a new kind of musical. The leader of the first ones decided on the next dance to challenge bernardo, the leader of the second.
Swain spend an entire chapter on the analysis of west side story. The curtain rises on the streets of the upper west side of new york city with a fight between rival gangs the sharks, a puerto. Very interesting to compare contrast on that side of the. The score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim are. With ansel elgort, rachel zegler, ariana debose, david alvarez. From the first notes to the final breath, west side story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. The further we get in time from when west side story was written, the more the musicals mythic dimensions come into focus. Anita is marias friend and, so far, has nothing to do with the plot. The film starred natalie wood, richard beymer, rita moreno, george chakiris and russ tamblyn.
Terms of use west side story film 1961 metrogoldwynmayer studios inc. The novel was later adapted into a nickelodeon television series, wayside. The jets, a white gang of teenagers led by riff, and the sharks, the puerto ricans who recently came to the west side, are the two gangs vying to rule the same area on their block. West side storys first and foremost a love story, but the themes of immigration and racism seethe below the surface. Reign disruptive digital marketing mysterious matters of max. Need reed 1 book from west side story sax on the web forum. Crazy to think that what happens takes place in that time frame. After owning their miserable little neighborhood for years, the jets, the fingersnapping street gang led by riff. The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the.
Immediately download the west side story summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. West side story, untold opinion the harvard crimson. A comparison of the power struggles in romeo and juliet and west side story. West side story is a romantic tragedy about two characters that are supposedly completely different and arent accepted when they fall in love. West side story free essay, term paper and book report.
A revival production of west side story is set to debut this month, but its classic starcrossed lovers theme will cede the stage to modern political touchstones such as identity politics and police brutality. Published april 15th 1990 by pocket books first published 1961. West side story is a musical tragedy film, directed by robert wise and jerome robbins, which is an awardwinning and adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, romeo and juliet. Need reed 1 book from west side story i dont have a copy of the book but ive played the show. Nigel simeone begins by exploring the long process of creating west side story, including a discussion of bernsteins sketches, early drafts of the score and script, as well as cut songs. At the time, the phrase broadway musical was synonymous. West side story by irving shulman, 1967, pocket books edition, in english west side story 1967 edition open library. The story revolves around quarrelsome families of two new york city gangs the white jets led by the riff and the puerto rican sharks, led by bernardo. West side story is the awardwinning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy romeo and juliet. They are getting ready for the party thats in a few hours. The story takes place in the fictional wayside school, a school that was meant to be built one story tall. A classical story with a modern setting, it still stands as one of the major contributions of the american theater. West side is a timeless story, whether its set in 16thcentury verona, 1950s new york or any modern city today. But marias brother was leader of the sharks and tony had once.
The musical explores the rivalry between the jets and the sharks, two teenage. Its success as a motion picture was equally spectacular. West side story free essay, term paper and book report the play west side story takes place in a suburb on the west side of new york city. 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. Plot summary for west side story 1961, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. West side story is one of the few broadway musicals that can make a genuine claim to transforming the genre. The show continues to seduce in a theatrical language that remains universal. In this musical, it uses several types of narratives, for example, after the fight between the jets and puerto ricans, after the police leave, they enter the ally and the girl is begging to join the gang saying how much she wants to fight is a part of narrative sexuality b 34. The sharks and the jets are rival gangs fighting for the same territory. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of west side story 1961 film by robert wise. The feuding families become two warring new york city gangsthe white jets led by riff and the latino sharks, led by bernardo.
When he finds out the maria is actually alive coming to meet him in the park they run. Westside stories used books we have decided to permanently close westside stories after 8 years of serving the buffalos west side. It starred carol lawrence as maria west side story opened on broadway at the winter garden theatre on 26 september 1957, and on the west end at her majestys theatre on 12. Although west side story was named the best picture of 1961 and won 10 academy awards, it is not much mentioned by movie fans these days, and the old warhorse singin in the rain is probably more seen and certainly better loved. West side story and the american imagination by misha berson.
Buoyed by robert wises dazzling direction, leonard bernsteins score, and stephen sondheims lyrics, west side story remains perhaps the most iconic of all the. If any aspect of west side story is still undervalued it is the book by arthur laurents. West side story is a tragic love story set in new york city in the mid1950s on the west side of the city. In my book club we took the comparison between this and the outsides. From the silver screen to the great white wayone of the greatest stories of all time. The musicals that were produced around that time period were meant to be strictly for entertainment, for the most part. It is based on shakespeares play, romeo and juliet. A modern romeo and juliet in the end in the end another character, tony heres that chino has killed maria, which is false and he begins to wander the streets yelling for chino to come kill him. We are making local book deliveries and shipping orders.
Maria was young and innocent and had never known loveuntil tony. Arthur laurents book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. Essays for west side story 1961 film west side story 1961 film essays are academic essays for citation. The fullydanced prolog shows the tension built up between the jets and the sharks two rival gangs in new yorks upper west side. The 1957 musical west side story was a collaboration among composer leonard bernstein, lyricist stephen sondheim, and choreographer jerome robbins. West side story 1961 film study guide contains a biography of robert wise, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a. There are some nice solo lines for alto in the first book, lots of flute playing including some exposed passages in the third octave, and two fun spots. The core of the book is the commentary on the music itself. West side story was very innovative, especially for its time period. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. It was inspired by william shakespeares play romeo and juliet. They came together through love but violence threatened to tear them apart. Location and time upper west side, new york, 1950s, during the last days of summer. Clipping is a handy way to collect important slides you want to go back to later.
Artist johnny green, west side story orchestra, suzie kaye, betty wand, george chakiris. The music was composed by leonard bernstein, and the lyrics were written by stephen sondheim. Wakefield youth music theatre present west side story at theatre royal wakefield from 2 to 11 september 2010. We can conclude that we are talking about a socially disadvantaged suburb as the surrounding area is described with high brick walls, not very attractive and by the presence of the two gangs the jets and the sharks. West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter. Irving shulman 191995 was a novelist and screenwriter, known for his depictions of urban life. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Theres a lot of plot in west side story but its scenes are probably the shortest of any book musical thats ever existed. The song america, in part, is about how american culture treats puerto ricans like secondclass citizens, and the tensions between the two gangs sometimes boils down to your skin is a different color than mine. Stay tuned for a post pandemic going out of business sale announcement. This quiz has been developed to test your knowledge about the. Winter garden theatre, new york 26 september, 1957 734 perfs her majestys theatre, london 12 december, 1958 1039 perfs story.
Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips. West side story began on the broadway stage and was immediately recognized as one of the most creative musical productions of the 20th century. It was a very brave move for the creative team of this musical to. The opening is a carefully choreographed, halfdancedhalfmimed ballet of sorts. Westside story is a modern musical representation of the classic story romeo and juliet. West side story simple english wikipedia, the free. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 3 in this chapter, anita is making the dress for maria. An adaptation of the 1957 musical, west side story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the jets and the sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. Shulman also wrote the original treatment for rebel without a cause, the film that shot james dean to stardom. 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. Read the full synopsis of west side story, 1961, directed by robert wise, with natalie wood, richard beymer, russ tamblyn, at turner classic movies. 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. West side story was first adapted into a film in 1961, directed by robert wise and robbins. Whenever i see a movie or stage production of a play, i am always interested to read the actual book to have a different perspective on the characters and overall plot.
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