Bernstein west side story leonard bernstein was born august 25, 1918, in lawrence, massachusetts, and died october 14, 1990, in new york city. Browse essays about west side story and find inspiration. But marias brother was leader of the sharks and tony had once. Shulman also wrote the original treatment for rebel without a cause, the film that shot james dean to stardom. Anybodys, a tomboy who is trying to join the jets, asks riff if she can participate in the rumble, but he says no. Bernardo, enraged that tony has been making advances to his sister, pushes him back furiously. West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter. The sharks get together on top of a building, which is their turf, and discuss their opinions of america. How does west side story question the idea of what it means to be an american. In the next scene, a puerto rican girl named maria is working in a bridal shop, making a dress to go to the. The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the.
Maria was young and innocent and had never known loveuntil tony. Instead of fair verona, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean, its the mean streets of 1950s new york city, where young gangs rumble over the right to walk down the street. But west side story, perhaps one of the most famous adaptations of william shakespeare s romeo and juliet, exposed audiences to gang violence on the streets of new york. West side story chapters 15 quiz 17 questions by zaberk last updated. 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. When he finds out the maria is actually alive coming to meet him in the park they run.
Detective schrank, the senior cop on the beat, tries to get the jets to tell him which puerto ricans are starting trouble in the neighborhood, as he claims he is on their side. The production ran for 732 performances before entering the world of film in 1961. West side story, theatre music by american composer leonard bernstein that premiered august 19, 1957, in washington, d. West side story summary and study guide supersummary. After owning their miserable little neighborhood for years, the jets, the fingersnapping street gang led by riff. West side story somewhere a place for you maria chapter 7, a. The musical is a 20thcentury american adaptation of the shakespearean tale of romeo and juliet. The further we get in time from when west side story was written. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. Winter garden theatre, new york 26 september, 1957 734 perfs her majestys theatre, london 12 december, 1958 1039 perfs story. West side story simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Once more, the clan of the montagues are at odds with the capulets. Both works highlight the struggles and conflicts of the individual self against the norms of society.
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. They came together through love but violence threatened to tear them apart. 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. 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. Tara16rider marias pov set after the end of west side story with inspiration from the 1961 film and natalie wood. Learn by example and become a better writer with kibins suite of essay help services. West side story musical by bernstein and sondheim and. 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 movie analysis linkedin slideshare. Crazy to think that what happens takes place in that time frame. 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. This 39page guide for west side story by irving shulman includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 2 chapters, as well as several more in. 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. Classroom supplement in celebration of carnegie hall s 125th anniversary season, the weill music institute wmi launches the somewhere project, a citywide exploration of west side story. Location and time upper west side, new york, 1950s, during the last days of summer. The importance of west side story essay 980 words bartleby. Immediately download the west side story summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching west side story. The girls love america and say that they have more freedom. West side story has been added to your cart add to cart. And he, who had been seeking something beyond the savagery of the streets, discovered it with her.
Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. Immediately download the west side story summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. The music was composed by leonard bernstein, and the lyrics were written by stephen sondheim. The leader of the first ones decided on the next dance to challenge bernardo, the leader of the second. When it premiered on broadway in 1957, it showed how dancing, singing, acting, and design could merge into a single means of expression, a seamless unity. They are getting ready for the party thats in a few hours. Plot summary for west side story 1961, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more.
It is based on shakespeares play, romeo and juliet. The fullydanced prolog shows the tension built up between the jets and the sharks two rival gangs in new yorks upper west side. Followfav west side story somewhere a place for you maria by. West side story reunion w rita moreno, russ tamblyn, george chakiris the talk 16nov2011 duration. West side story is a tragic love story set in new york city in the mid1950s on the west side of the city. Written in the mid1950s, west side story showcased adult themes and harsh language, which was bold for musical productions. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 4 this is the party chapter. Read a character analysis of juliet, plot summary, and important quotes. The movie, westside story, is a dramamusical, which takes place in a city of new york, probably in the early 50s late 40s that shows the hate of two rival gangs, which despises the other in a vicious circle of prejudice. Riff is sure tony is still one of them, singing jet song. West side story somewhere a place for you maria chapter 7. Jun 16, 2017 west side story chapters 15 quiz 17 questions by zaberk last updated. West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter maria.
Free shipping get free shipping free 58 day shipping within the u. But marias brother was leader of the sharks and from the silver screen to the great white wayone of the greatest stories of all time. West side story simple english wikipedia, the free. West side story was a broadway musical by leonard bernstein that was turned into an awardwinning musical film. West side story chapter 4 instead bernardo is kind of like. The score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim are widely regarded as among the best ever written. Five fast facts winner of 10 academy awards soundtrack was no 1 on the billboard charts for 54 weeks 94% on rotten tomatoes based on romeo and juliet, which is based on a poem by arthur brooke called the tragic historye of romeus and juliet, which is based on a poem by the roman poet ovid called pyramus and thisbe actors worked over 16. From the silver screen to the great white wayone of the greatest stories of all time. The story is loosely based on shakespeares romeo and juliet, telling the tale of. Tensions exist between the jets, a selfstyled american street gang, and the sharks, a group of young puerto ricans. Westside stories used books we have decided to permanently close westside stories after 8 years of serving the buffalos west side. 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. Swain spend an entire chapter on the analysis of west side story.
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. Essays for west side story 1961 film west side story 1961 film essays are academic essays for citation. This area is full of west side story has been a play that i have been wanting to read for quite a long time. This classroom supplement is meant to accompany the materials in the soundfly course and to open. West side story synopsis north shore music theatre. 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. West side storyromeo juliet themes flashcards quizlet. Summary read a plot overview of the entire play or a scene by scene summary and analysis. West side story, american musical film, released in 1961, that was inspired by shakespeares romeo and juliet. What do you think the musical says about american national identity. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of west side story 1961 film by robert wise. The show continues to seduce in a theatrical language that remains universal. West side story music by leonard bernstein, lyrics by stephen sondheim and choreography by jerome robbins adapted the plot from shakespeares romeo and juliet to tell the story of two new york gangs, the jets and sharks, and the tragic love story that results when tony, a founder of the jets, falls in love with maria, the younger. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 3 in this chapter, anita is making the dress for maria.
In my book club we took the comparison between this and the outsides. There is palpable tension in the air as two gangs vie for dominance of the area. Another theme in both west side story and romeo and juliet is the concept of us against the world. Every person no matter their ethnicity, age, or gender has a type of prejudice against something or someone. In paris it played for four straight years at the george v theater, creating a record. Frustrated, schrank threatens to beat the crap out of the jets unless they make nice. If shakespeares lovers are starcrossed and illfated, tony and maria are also tragically so.
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. Anita is marias friend and, so far, has nothing to do with the plot. The film is set in the rough neighborhood of lincoln square on the west side of manhattan during the summer of 1957. The issue of identity has played a central part in his fiction, including the novels midnights children. A comparison of the power struggles in romeo and juliet and west side story. The jets meet the sharks there, with both sides bringing their girlfriends. Tony where and why america is one on of the songs in west side story.
Luckily for us, they found an entirely new way to tell the story of romeo and juliet. Manila, philippines the american cast of the iconic broadway musical west side story is now in town for the shows manila season, which kicked off on august 10 and will run until august 27. Although west side story was named the best picture of 1961 and won. West side story is a musical with a book by arthur laurents, music by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim. Setting compare and contrast plot the book west side story takes place on the west side of new york city in the 1950s. West side story chapters 610 quiz 25 questions by zaberk last updated. Arthur laurents book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. Journey to the west is an epic chinese tale written in the 16th century and part of the four great classical novels of china, a group of books which form the foundation of chinese literature. As part of the project, wmi has partnered with soundfly to produce an. West side story is one of the great contributors to musical theatre, in particular broadway where it originally opened on september 26 1957 at the winter garden theatre. Five fast facts winner of 10 academy awards soundtrack was no 1 on the billboard charts for 54 weeks 94% on rotten tomatoes based on romeo and juliet, which is based on a poem by arthur brooke called the tragic historye of romeus and juliet, which is based on a poem by the roman poet ovid called pyramus and thisbe. The jets, however, are not stool pigeons and wont tell him anything. Wakefield youth music theatre present west side story at theatre royal wakefield from 2 to 11 september 2010. Very interesting to compare contrast on that side of the.
Stay tuned for a post pandemic going out of business sale announcement. He composed the musical west side story principally from autumn 1955 through summer 1957, and it received its. 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. Whether it was completely new vision as a concept musical, or the pinnacle of an already established tradition, it marked the most impressive body of choreography in a single show and was acclaimed. Suddenly switchblade knives appear, and riff and bernardo. The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the sharks, led by bernardo, from the streets. Sara fishko reflects on its behindthescenes tension and cultural impact. Romeo and juliet study guide west side story, and a dozen films. West side storys first and foremost a love story, but the themes of immigration and racism seethe below the surface. Imagine living in a country which has been ruled under a dictatorship for as long as you can remember. The score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim are. The further we get in time from when west side story was written, the more the musicals mythic dimensions come into focus. The scenes in the book mostly take place at a drugstore, a playground and on the streets. The controversial and awardwinning author salman rushdie was born in bombay, india.
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