Love and War on the West Side
If you loved the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but would like to see a new take on it, the West Side Story musical may be what you are looking for. This musical was originally planned to be a rendition of the famous tragedy by Shakespeare but with the East Side as the setting. However, due to further engagements, the original theme was not pushed through and when the creators began to rethink the idea, they came up with a new theme instead.
The West Side Story is about a Polish boy and an immigrant Puerto Rican girl who just came to America. Despite the backdrop of gang life, the two fall in love. However, much like the Shakespearean tragedy theme, the boy, Tony, accidentally kills the brother of his lover. During this process, all hell broke lose.
The musical is set with many angst-filled songs with the music of Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. The book itself is by Arthur Laurents.
In the beginning, this musical was played at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1957. It has had 732 performances and then it went on tour. Because of the popularity of this play, it was even made into a movie in the year 1961 starring Richard Beymer, Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris.
To date, it is being acted out on theatres so you still have the chance to watch the performance of orchestras, bands and theatre actors in a uniquely crafted stage musical. Many people were opposing the theme of this musical at first because of the portrayal of the gang life. However, since it is a depiction of the real face of life at the West side, more people loved the idea.
The West Side Story tickets are available as your gate pass to this one of a kind performance.
