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West Side Story - A Tale of Love and Rivalry in 1950s New York City

West Side Story is a groundbreaking American musical inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Set in the Upper West Side neighborhood of NYC, it explores the clash between two teenage street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, with Tony from the Jets falling in love with Maria, the sister of the Sharks' leader. With powerful music, captivating dance scenes, and a focus on social issues, this musical remains a classic in American theater.

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West Side Story - A Tale of Love and Rivalry in 1950s New York City

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  1. West Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins. It was inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

  2. The story is set in the West 50s and West 60s of the Upper West Side neighbourhood in New York City. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks from Puerto Rico are taunted by the Jets, a white working class group. The young protagonist, Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre. Bernstein's score for the musical has become extremely popular; it includes "Something's Coming", “Maria", “America", “Somewhere", “Tonight", "Jet Song", "I Feel Pretty", “A Boy Like That", “One Hand, One Heart", "Gee, and “ Officer Krupke".

  3. Jerome Robbins proposed the idea for writing a musical based on Romeo and Juliet to Leonard Bernstein in January of 1949. In August of 1955, a meeting with Arthur Laurents produced another idea: two teen-age gangs as the warring factions, one of them newly-arrived Puerto Ricans, the other self-styled "Americans." In November, 1955 Stephen Sondheim joined the project as lyricist. A year and a half later, rehearsals began for the Broadway premiere of West Side Story. The story reflects the conflict between an Irish American Roman 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" .

  4. Characters : • Tony Maria • Bernardo Pepe • Chino Ice • Riff Anybodies • Baby John Policemen • Anita Master of ceremonies • Velma Consuelo • Maria’s father Doc

  5. Created by Sara, Vivian and Danila

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