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Show Biography - West Side Story
West Side Story took the classic tale of star crossed lovers and gave it a stir in the American melting pot in this adaptation. With a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, this version takes the Montagues and the Capulets and puts them in Hell's Kitchen, separated by race instead of surnames. West Side Story tickets in the 1957 original production were seats to perhaps the most compelling American musical to date.
The Jets, American kids trying to keep their turf while the neighborhood's demographic changes, and the Sharks, the Puerto Ricans encroaching on the Manhattan neighborhood, battle throughout the story. The war is interrupted by a love affair between Anglo-American Tony, older brother of the Jets captain, and Maria, little sister of the Sharks captain. Tickets to any production of this show let the audience enjoy classic songs like Something's Coming, Maria, and America.
The Broadway show ran for 732 performances before heading out on tour and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1957 and won the Tony for best choreography. The story of West Side Story inspired a much-loved movie adaptation of the stage show and sold tickets at the box office in droves as the cultural conflict went from simmering in unspoken prejudices to starting civil rights movements as racism came to the forefront.
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West Side Story has been a favorite in regional theatres, high schools, and colleges as well as on Broadway and the West End in London in countless revivals. It seems that every year you can travel to any city in the United States and find some stage to purchase West Side Story tickets and enjoy the local take on the American tale.
