The scenes in the book mostly take place at a drugstore, a playground and on the streets. It was inspired by william shakespeare s play romeo and juliet. The captive tells of the sadistic teagues band of the home guard. It is based on shakespeares play, romeo and juliet. Arthur laurents book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. They know they cant be together because of the gangs war, but that doesnt stop them. The jets meet the sharks there, with both sides bringing their girlfriends. 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.
With groundbreaking choreography by the legendary jerome robbins, book by arthur laurents, an unforgettable score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim, west side story created a new face for musical theatre. 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. 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. 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. As part of the project, wmi has partnered with soundfly to produce an eightpart interactive online companion course that is available. Review for the west side story final test learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Type west side story into your search engine and up will come several sites with a full summary of the plot. Half of the novel is set in the town of cold mountain where ada lives. An analysis of west side story with the audio attached for some of the key features that bernstein uses.
The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the. West side story simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. West side story was directed and choreographed by the innovative jerome robbins, who stated in an added feature presentation in the 2003 dvd release that he had been interested in creating a contemporary version of william shakespeares romeo and juliet since the late 1940s and that arthur laurents, the shows writer, and composer leonard. Westside stories used books we have decided to permanently close westside stories after 8 years of serving the buffalos west side. Finally, when ada and ruby visit the town of cold mountain, they hear a story told by a prisoner jailed for desertion. This oversimplification of the tulsa setting reflects the characters longstanding beliefs that people belong to either one gang or the other, and there is no middle ground. West side story is a musical with a book by arthur laurents, music by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim. Ponyboy explains that the greasers rule the poorer east side of town, while the socs run the wealthier west side of town. How does salman rushdie use allusions to convey his ideas and perspectives of home to the. The music was composed by leonard bernstein, and the. West side story 1961 film summary the film is set in the rough neighborhood of lincoln square on the west side of manhattan during the summer of 1957. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Plot summary for west side story 1961, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia 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. On their walk home, the two women observe some herons, and ruby explains that a heron fathered her. West side story by irving shulman goodreads share book. There is palpable tension in the air as two gangs vie for dominance of the area. Essay about west side story full movie rita moreno returns to west side story, in new role bbc news west side story film analysis essay zktbuh.
West side story by irving shulman, 1967, pocket books. The music was composed by leonard bernstein, and the lyrics were written by stephen sondheim. West side story by jonathan retartha and ryan retartha rarely in pop culture is a remake of a classic work able to become a classic of its own. Very interesting to compare contrast on that side of the. 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. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Tensions exist between the jets, a selfstyled american street gang, and the sharks, a group of young puerto ricans. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 3 in this chapter, anita is making the dress for maria. When he finds out the maria is actually alive coming to meet him in the park they run. 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. Aug 07, 2012 an analysis of west side story with the audio attached for some of the key features that bernstein uses. Crazy to think that what happens takes place in that time frame.
One of the only exceptions is west side story, which brings its special twist of shakespeares romeo and juliet to washington hall this week. As part of the project, wmi has partnered with soundfly to produce an. The score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim are widely regarded as among the best ever written. He composed the musical west side story principally from autumn 1955 through summer 1957, and it received its. A summary of west side story 378 words 123 help me. 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. West side story chapter 3 big trouble in this chapter maria. Swain spend an entire chapter on the analysis of west side story. The official website the official website, in all its glory.
Summary read a plot overview of the entire play or a scene by scene summary and analysis. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. The protagonist of the story, xuanzang, is a buddhist monk who is tasked with recovering the sacred texts from the. At a dance at a gym, jet tony falls in love with a sharks sister, maria. Upper west side, new york, 1950s, during the last days of summer. Irving shulman 191995 was a novelist and screenwriter, known for his depictions of urban life. Its a bit dated now but still the best musical ever. Rushdies at the auction of the ruby slippers is a continuation.
West side story 1961 film part 1 summary and analysis. Once more, the clan of the montagues are at odds with the capulets. In 1961, west side story, a filmed version of the hit broadway musical that was inspired by william shakespeares romeo and juliet, was released to viewers, who just could not resist the energy and excitement of the movie. The fullydanced prolog shows the tension built up between the jets and the sharks two rival gangs in new yorks upper west side. Setting compare and contrast plot the book west side story takes place on the west side of new york city in the 1950s. 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.
In my book club we took the comparison between this and the outsides. The moment the curtain rose on west side story on broadway, musical theatre was at once changed forever. What is the full character analysis of maria in west side. 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. Get an answer for what is the full character analysis of maria in west side story. The leader of the first ones decided on the next dance to challenge bernardo, the leader of the second. The main characters in journey to the west are xuanzang and his four disciples. 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. The musical is a 20thcentury american adaptation of the shakespearean tale of romeo and juliet. Bernstein west side story leonard bernstein was born august 25, 1918, in lawrence, massachusetts, and died october 14, 1990, in new york city. 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. Goodreads members who liked west side story also liked. Books similar to west side story goodreads share book.
They are getting ready for the party thats in a few hours. The score by leonard bernstein and lyrics by stephen sondheim are. Find books like west side story from the worlds largest community of readers. 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. West side story chapter 4 instead bernardo is kind of like. Thirtyeight years later, viewers, like myself, still cannot resist it.
Stay tuned for a post pandemic going out of business sale announcement. West side story musical by bernstein and sondheim and. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. West side story is groundbreaking in a lot of ways, but when it comes to delivering the information, it tends to rely on the triedandtrue technique of moving to the character we need to see when we need to see him or her, then moving back as the story demands. Wakefield youth music theatre present west side story at theatre royal wakefield from 2 to 11 september 2010. West side story, theatre music by american composer leonard bernstein that premiered august 19, 1957, in washington, d. Murphy 7 december 2006 west side story chapter 4 this is the party chapter. 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. West side story is a tragic love story set in new york city in the mid1950s on the west side of the city.
The leader of the sharks, riff, swears to drive the sharks, led by bernardo, from the streets. The opening shots of west side story set the scene for the film, dropping the viewer down in new york city. The story is set in the upper west side neighborhood in new york city in the mid 1950s, an ethnic, bluecollar neighborhood in the early 1960s, much of the. The sharks and the jets are two feuding street gangs in 1950s new york, the jets being white and the sharks being puerto rican. Anita is marias friend and, so far, has nothing to do with the plot. West side story summary and study guide supersummary. If shakespeares lovers are starcrossed and illfated, tony and maria are also tragically so. Read a character analysis of juliet, plot summary, and important quotes.