West Side Story (1961 film) Themes
- Loyalty. The film centers around two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. ...
- Adults vs. Kids. ...
- Immigration. Immigration is also a major theme in the film, as the members of the Sharks gang are all Puerto Rican immigrants.
- Class. ...
- Love. ...
- Violence. ...
- Racial prejudice. ...
What are the main themes in West Side Story?
West Side Story (1961 film) Themes
- Loyalty. The film centers around two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. ...
- Adults vs. Kids. ...
- Immigration. Immigration is also a major theme in the film, as the members of the Sharks gang are all Puerto Rican immigrants.
- Class. ...
- Love. ...
- Violence. ...
- Racial prejudice. ...
What is the main idea of West Side Story?
“West Side Story” is the anthem of New York City: an incendiary story about two rival gangs, two kids in love, about neighborhoods, about Puerto Rico, and New York, and betrayal.
What is the summary of West Side Story?
The premise: "Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner, "West Side Story" tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City." The details: Rated PG-13. 156 minutes. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Tony Kushner.
What happens at the end of West Side Story?
Towards the end of the West Side Story, the Jets are trying to protect Tony from the police while he waits for Maria to join him in Valentina's drugstore. Anybodys soon arrives with the information that Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera) has obtained a gun and may be looking for Tony.
What are the two themes in West Side Story?
West Side Story is a classic American musical that is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet. Like its source material, the show explores the theme of youth violence, as well as racial tensions in contemporary America.
What is the lesson or the moral of West Side Story?
But Fitzgerald's direction is guided by the belief that love can overcome and conquer hate. "Love has no boundaries. Doesn't matter whether you're gay, straight, white, black, love has no blinders on. Love has no hate."
What is the purpose of West Side Story?
Conceived in 1949, West Side Story has a serious message that pleads for racial tolerance, delivered in unforgettable song and dance. People have been listening to that message, and humming the songs, ever since the show premiered on Broadway in 1957 and debuted on the silver screen in 1961.?
Why do the Jets and Sharks hate each other?
The Jets detest the Puerto Ricans as much as they fear their power and numbers. The Sharks hate the Jets because they represent all that they cannot achieve in America simply because they are immigrants. For example, they are barred from jobs and not paid as much as their white counterparts.
Does Maria get pregnant in West Side Story?
Maria is pregnant from sleeping with Tony before his death. A month or two afterwards, she'll realize she's late and give birth to a son, who she'll name Anton Bernardo. Raising him as a single mother, the Jets and the Sharks will help, and move toward reconciliation. Why not go further?
Why is it called West Side Story?
Question: Where exactly on the "West Side" is the musical West Side Story set? The simple answer to this question is that the west side in West Side Story is the west side of Manhattan. "At the time. that was kind of a dangerous neighborhood full of gangs," said musical expert Steven Suskin.
What happens when Tony tries to stop the fight describe in detail?
When Tony tries to stop the fight, Bernardo attacks him. When Tony does not retaliate, the Sharks mock him. Unable to stand by and watch while his best friend is mocked and humiliated, Riff punches Bernardo, trying to defend Tony, and the two gang leaders draw their switchblades ("The Rumble").
Where does West Side Story take place?
ManhattanUsing a combination of location shots in New York and stylized sets in Los Angeles, the filmmakers created a startling visual representation of the streets of Manhattan. West Side Story was originally set in the neighborhood of Lincoln Square, or San Juan Hill, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
What song do the Jets sing after the rumble?
“Jet Song” - This song plays after the introduction of the Jets and following their first heated exchange with the Sharks. It's sung by Riff, Ice, Diesel, Baby John and the other members of the Jets as they're walking down the street and after they've been given a talking to by Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll).
What is the theme of the movie Sharks?
The Sharks face a great deal of racism and bigotry as non-white New Yorkers in the neighborhood. The Jets call them "Spics" and deem them untrustworthy time-and-again , and much of the tension surrounding Maria and Tony's affair has to do with Bernardo and Anita worrying that Maria cannot trust a white boy to take care of her best interests.
What is the movie Love Story about?
The film is, perhaps most importantly, a love story, a retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in which two lovers from opposing families fall in love against the wishes of their respective clans. Maria and Tony's affair is pure and strong from the minute they lay eyes on one another at the dance, to such an extent that director Robert Wise blurs the rest of the action to show that the two lovers only have eyes for each other. From there, their romance blossoms rapidly, and they each profess their love that night, and are soon planning their wedding. Love is an essential thing in life, and Maria and Anita—in spite of their disagreements—eventually agree on the fact that "Your love is your life."
Why do people object to Tony and Maria's love affair?
The reason that people object to Tony and Maria 's love affair is that they believe that the two lovers should be loyal to their respective races. "Stick to your own kind," Anita sings to Maria in "A Boy Like That," as a way of warning Maria that she cannot trust someone outside of her racial group.
How does violence affect the movie Sharks and Jets?
Violence hums underneath the action of the film, as Jets and Sharks vie for the neighborhood. From the opening moment, when we see the Jets wandering through various basketball courts and parking lots, snapping and whistling, we can tell that the gang culture in the neighborhood is an intimidating and threatening one. The boys, Sharks and Jets alike, have chips on their shoulder, and they can only reconcile their feelings by picking fights and antagonizing one another. Anita narrates that Bernardo builds up his feelings and can only calm down after a fight. Violence is something that haunts the gang members in the film, until it becomes a force for destruction and death.
What is the theme of West Side Story?
As in Romeo and Juliet, the love between members of two rival groups in West Side Story leads to violent confrontations "and a tragic ending with an underlying message: Violence breeds violence, so make peace and learn to share turf." Among the social themes explored in the musical are "bigotry, cultural misunderstanding and the social failure to fully integrate and empower young people in constructive ways".
What is the West Side Story musical about?
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.
What was the plot of Romeo and Juliet?
He proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, during the Easter– Passover season. The girl has survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Israel; the conflict was to be centered around anti-Semitism of the Catholic "Jets" towards the Jewish "Emeralds" (a name that made its way into the script as a reference). Eager to write his first musical, Laurents immediately agreed. Bernstein wanted to present the material in operatic form, but Robbins and Laurents resisted the suggestion. They described the project as "lyric theater", and Laurents wrote a first draft he called East Side Story. Only after he completed it did the group realize it was little more than a musicalization of themes that had already been covered in plays like Abie's Irish Rose. When Robbins opted to drop out, the three men went their separate ways, and the piece was shelved for almost five years.
How many movements are there in the West Side Story?
In 1960, Bernstein prepared a suite of orchestral music from the show, titled Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. It consists of nine movements: Prologue ( Allegro moderato ), "Somewhere" ( Adagio ), Scherzo ( Vivace e leggiero ), Mambo ( Meno presto ), Cha-Cha ( Andantino con grazia ), Meeting Scene ( Meno mosso ), "Cool" Fugue ( Allegretto ), Rumble ( Molto allegro ), Finale ( Adagio ); it was premiered on February 13, 1961, in Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Lukas Foss. The suite is included as bonus tracks on the 1957 original Broadway cast recording .
How many players were in the original West Side Story orchestra?
The original orchestra consisted of 31 players: a large Broadway pit orchestra enhanced to include 5 percussionists, a guitarist and a piano/ celesta player. In 1960, Bernstein prepared a suite of orchestral music from the show, titled Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
How many times was Wild Side Story performed?
From 1973 to 2004, Wild Side Story, a camp parody musical, based loosely on West Side Story and adapting parts of the musical's music and lyrics, was performed a total of more than 500 times in Miami Beach, Florida, Stockholm, Gran Canaria and Los Angeles.
Where was East Side Story set?
Bernstein suggested they rework East Side Story and set it in Los Angeles, but Laurents felt he was more familiar with Puerto Ricans in the United States and Harlem than he was with Mexican Americans and Olvera Street. The two contacted Robbins, who was enthusiastic about a musical with a Latin beat.
What is a supersummary of West Side Story?
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
When did West Side Story come out?
When West Side Story opened on Broadway in 1957, it was a new kind of musical. At the time, the phrase “Broadway musical” was synonymous with “musical comedy.”. Musical theatre typically took a lighthearted approach, even when broaching serious issues. But West Side Story, perhaps one of the most famous adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Romeo ...
Is West Side Story a happy ending?
And unlike the typical Broadway musical of the 1950s and before, West Side Story does not offer audiences a happy ending. Just as Romeo and Juliet are born to rival families, Tony and Maria are associated with rival gangs. Tony is a Jet, a gang of American-born youths led by his best friend, Riff.
Does Maria kill herself in West Side Story?
But unlike Shakespeare’s Juliet, Maria doesn’t kill herself. Instead, she rebukes both gangs for the lives lost, and watches as the Sharks and the Jets come together to carry off Tony’s body. While the adults in Romeo and Juliet weep for their lost children and resolve to change and end the feud, the adults in West Side Story watch helplessly as the two gangs leave the stage at the end. The musical shows a society in which parents and law enforcement have failed to foster community, instead pitting young people against each other to fight the same battles based on the same fears that cause anti-immigrant sentiment today. West Side Story offers a powerful message to audiences: hate breeds more hate. Until violent and discriminatory social structures are dismantled, the most vulnerable members of the community will continue to suffer and die.
Overview
West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different
Background
In 1949, Jerome Robbins approached Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents about collaborating on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, during the Easter–Passover season. The girl has survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Israel; the conflict was to be centered on anti-Semitism of the Catholic "Jets" towards the Je…
Synopsis
Two rival teenage gangs, the Jets (white Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans), struggle for control of their neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (Prologue). Police officers Krupke and Lt. Schrank warn them to stop fighting on their beat. The police chase the Sharks off, and then the Jets plan how they can assure their continued dominance of the street. The Jets' leader, …
Characters
• Riff, the leader
• Tony, Riff's best friend
• Diesel, Riff's lieutenant
• Action, A-Rab, Baby John, Big Deal, Gee-Tar, Mouthpiece, Snowboy, Tiger and Anybodys
Musical numbers
Notes
• In the 1964 and 1980 revivals, "Somewhere" was sung by Francisca rather than Consuelo.
• In the 2009 revival, "Cool" was performed by Riff, the Jets, and the Jet Girls. "I Feel Pretty" was sung in Spanish as "Me siento hermosa" and "A Boy Like That" was sung in Spanish as "Un hombre así". They were changed back to their English lyrics midway through the run. "Somewhere" was sung …
Productions
After tryouts in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia beginning in August 1957, the original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, to positive reviews. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, orchestrated by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, and produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, with lighting designed by Jean …
Critical reaction
The creators' innovations in dance, music and theatrical style drew enthusiastic reactions from the critics. Walter Kerr wrote in the New York Herald Tribune on September 27, 1957:
The radioactive fallout from West Side Story must still be descending on Broadway this morning. Director, choreographer, and idea-man Jerome Robbins has put together, and then blasted apart, the most savage, restless, electrifying dance patterns we've been exposed to in a dozen season…
Score
Bernstein's score for West Side Story blends "jazz, Latin rhythms, symphonic sweep and musical-comedy conventions in groundbreaking ways for Broadway". It was orchestrated by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal following detailed instructions from Bernstein, who then wrote revisions on their manuscript (the original, heavily annotated by Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein, is in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at Columbia University). Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein are billed as orche…