Table of Contents
- 1 What was the original concept for the musical West Side Story?
- 2 What is the historical significance of West Side Story?
- 3 What ethnicity are the Jets West Side Story?
- 4 Who originally came up with the idea to do West Side Story?
- 5 Was West Side Story successful?
- 6 Are the Jets Hispanic?
- 7 Where did West Side Story take place?
- 8 Who wrote the West Side Story?
- 9 Why is West Side Story considered a musical?
- 10 Is West Side Story based on Romeo and Juliet?
What was the original concept for the musical West Side Story?
In 1947, Jerome Robbins approached Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents about collaborating on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
What is the historical significance of West Side Story?
Arguably, its greatest influence was in the theatricality of its presentation—the seamlessness and cinematic flow of its staging—and the integration of script, song, dance, and set. In its original Broadway run, West Side Story ran for 732 performances—a success, but not a smash hit.
What ethnicity are the Jets West Side Story?
Set in the 1950s, “West Side Story” centers on the rivalry between two teenage street gangs — the Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang — as their communities faced displacement during New York City’s urban renewal period.
Is the West Side Story based on a true story?
Neither was based on a real-life person just what the creators knew around them in New York City. The girl was to be a recent Jewish immigrant from Israel and the boy an Italian Catholic, with the drama unfolding in the Lower East Side during the Easter-Passover season.
What Shakespeare inspired West Side Story?
It is widely known that West Side Story (WSS) is based directly on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (R&J). Far less well known is the fact that Shakespeare based his play (1594) on other material, particularly a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke entitled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562).
Who originally came up with the idea to do West Side Story?
Jerome Robbins
8. When was West Side Story written? Jerome Robbins’ proposed the idea for writing a musical based on Romeo and Juliet to Leonard Bernstein in January of 1949 (working title: East Side Story, set in the slums at the coincidence of Easter-Passover celebrations).
Was West Side Story successful?
No one can claim the movie version of West Side Story hasn’t been given its full and proper due. When it premiered 60 years ago, it opened to huge critical and commercial success, becoming the highest grossing film of 1961 and winning 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Are the Jets Hispanic?
The Jets are a Tongan-American family band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, composed of brothers and sisters LeRoy, Eddie, Eugene, Haini, Rudy, Kathi, Elizabeth, and Moana Wolfgramm, who perform pop, R&B, and dance music.
What play was the inspiration for West Side Story?
Romeo and Juliet
It is widely known that West Side Story (WSS) is based directly on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (R&J). Far less well known is the fact that Shakespeare based his play (1594) on other material, particularly a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke entitled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562).
Did Elvis turn down West Side Story?
Elvis Presley was approached for Tony, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker turned down the part. Others who were considered for the part included Russ Tamblyn, Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Richard Chamberlain, and Robert Redford.
Where did West Side Story take place?
Manhattan
West Side Story was originally set in the neighborhood of Lincoln Square, or San Juan Hill, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Until the 1950s, the neighborhood was predominantly African-American and Afro-Caribbean.
Who wrote the West Side Story?
Stephen Sondheim
Leonard BernsteinJerome RobbinsArthur Laurents
West Side Story/Story by
Why is West Side Story considered a musical?
West Side Story is not only a classic musical, it is also one of only a handful of landmark shows that fundamentally changed the form of musicals. Arguably, its greatest influence was in the theatricality of its presentation—the seamlessness and cinematic flow of its staging—and the integration of script, song, dance, and set.
Is West Side Story about Puerto Rican immigration?
West Side Story and Puerto Rican Immigration. The musical drama West Side Story accurately illustrates many of the hardships faced by Puerto Rican immigrants living in New York City in 1950′s, especially through its depiction of the racism that confronted Maria, Bernardo, and their family and friends.
Is ‘West Side Story’ Getting a remake?
Filming is expected to start this summer on the remake of the 1961 smash hit movie “West Side Story,” based on the 1957 musical. The film garnered 10 Oscars — a record that still stands as the most for a movie musical.Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg and award-winning screenwriter Tony Kushner are spearheading the much-publicized new version.
Is West Side Story based on Romeo and Juliet?
West Side Story is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare ‘s play Romeo and Juliet . The story is set in the mid 1950s in the Upper West Side of New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood.