Many people rightly notice that all the main storylines have long been invented, and those that offer the viewer again are just a modern adaptation of the existing idea. Most often this is exactly what happens. In particular, this concerns the tragic love story from William Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet,” which no one else exploited as best he could. Fortunately, among the many adaptations there was a place for the truly worthy. This, for example, Westside Story by composer Leonard Bernstein.
The brilliant talent of Bernstein and his comrades made it possible to create a truly grandiose musical based on classical tragedy. In this material, the reader will find information about the difficult way to create a musical and a brief summary of West Side Story.
Authors
The musical West Side Story was handled by several professional theater, film and musicians at once. These included the American playwright Arthur Lawrence, who wrote the script for him. Leonard Bernstein, who was one of the main promoters of academic music, was responsible for the musical design; he is also considered one of the main authors of West Side Story. Steven Sondheim and Jorem Robbins also worked on the musical. The first wrote the words for him, and the second, being an "Oscar-bearer" and a professional choreographer, staged dance numbers for all the main scenes.
The basis of the musical
The basis was the classic tragedy of William Shakespeare, telling about the love between a man and a woman from two warring old clans - Montecchi and Capulet. The work was written back in 1595, and published in 1597. This work of Shakespeare, which served as the basis for a huge number of modern love stories, wanders from century to century, changes and changes with each new generation, fascinated by its tragedy.
So the plot of "West Side Story" largely repeats the events of the legendary drama. This fact once again confirms Shakespeare's unique talent and enables modern generations to feel the new story and immerse themselves in it fully.
History of creation
West Side Story was an adventurous attempt to adapt Shakespeare's work to contemporary realities. The main characters - analogues of Romeo and Juliet, were to become members of various religious faiths (Jews and Catholics), and religious prejudices that had formed in society had to separate them.
Due to the availability of other work and plans, this statement had to be postponed indefinitely. After 6 years, ignited by the idea of ​​creating “West Side Story,” Bernstein returned to work on the musical, but its “setting” lost its relevance, therefore a new idea was developed and the action was transferred to a more modern era.
By 1956, the script was ready. It was an interesting and innovative work, which, unfortunately, did not arouse enthusiasm among investors. They were not ready to go on such a decisive experiment. As a result, producer Harold Prince solved the problem, thanks to which the musical was nevertheless presented to the audience.
Scene
Since we are talking about the next reincarnation of Shakespeare's novel, then before the brief content of West Side Story, it is worth considering the setting in more detail (the environment in which the described action takes place).
The events of adapted history were supposed to take place during the period of enmity between Jews and Catholics, but since work on the musical was delayed, it lost its relevance. Then the team of creators decided to transfer events to the eastern part of Manhattan. At that time, newspaper headlines were full of news about skirmishes between Latin American gangs and descendants of white immigrants. It was this burning topic that became the basis for a new location in the future musical.
Summary
The West Side Story, based on the immortal work of William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, repeats all the main plot points of this story.
The plot is built around two street gangs - these are “Sharks” and “Missiles,” which hate each other and try to maintain control of the streets. It all starts with another brawl, which is stopped by local police.
The “Rocket” gang takes the initiative in its own hands and calls the opposite gang for a dance duel. Rocket gang leader Riff provoked Bernardo (the Shark leader) and called his best friend Tony to help him.
Bernardo has a sister, Maria, who sells wedding dresses with Anita (her brother’s girlfriend). As in the legendary story, Mary was already found by her relatives. This is chino.
At a party, gangs compete with each other, and Maria and Toni, standing alone, notice each other, instantly feel an invisible connection and fall in love. Bernardo noticed this, got angry and dragged Mary aside.
Tony, having completely lost his head, finds Maria’s house and sings a serenade under her window. Maria goes to Tony and they confess their love to each other, standing on the fire escape.
Later, two gangs agree on the next duel and decide which weapon will be used. As a result, everyone agrees that they will fight on their fists, like a man. The police are trying to find out where the next skirmish will occur, but nothing is known, and therefore there should be a fight.
At this time, Tony visits Mary in her store, where she asks him to stop the future battle. Tony is also against constant hostility, therefore, agrees.
Tony arrived at the scene of the fight and asks its participants to back down, but it is too late, Bernardo rushes to the leader of the Gang Rocket and mortally wounds him. Tony, who witnessed the death of his best friend, loses control and kills Bernardo (brother of his beloved).
Hearing howls of sirens are heard, gang members scatter around, Tony is led away by little Enibadis, who dreams of getting into the Riff gang.
Maria learns about what Tony did, and when he comes to her, he attacks him hysterically. Tony explains everything to his beloved, and they decide to run away from the country, despite the fact that Anita is against Mary escaping with the murderer of her brother.
At this time, Chino finds a gun and sets off in search of his brother’s killer to retaliate. In the last episode, all three meet in Doc’s candy store, where Chino kills Mary’s lover. The police come, take Chino, Maria mourns the deceased.
Premiere, criticism and awards
The musical was shown to the general public for the first time on September 26, 1957 at the Winter Garden Theater. The musical West Side Story has been staged 723 times. Most critics have left positive reviews about Bernstein's new work. The storyline, the work of the actors and the level of adaptation were praised in the press.
Alas, the creator’s joy did not last long, exactly until it was time to present awards for the best musical. Bernstein’s tragic story could not compete on equal terms with Meridit Wilson’s music seller, a cheerful work. As a result, Bernstein’s creation won in only one nomination - “Best Choreography”. The status of a cult musical was acquired only after its film adaptation was released in 1961, only then the audience appreciated the enormous work of Bernstein. The film received 10 Academy Award.
West Side Story in Russia
Another feature of West Side Story is the fact that it was translated into Russian and shown in Soviet theaters as early as 1965, but it was an independent production. In 2007, after lengthy negotiations, the Novosibirsk Academic Theater still got the rights to this production. The contract implied not only standard payments to the licensees for the demonstration of the musical, but also joint work with the American director and preservation of the original choreography staged by Jerome Robbins.
Instead of a conclusion
If we take into account the fact that West Side Story is still being set all over the world, we can say with confidence that Bernstein and his team were able to fully realize their conjectures and choose the right atmosphere, as the setting has been all these years and the main idea has not changed at all. The summary of Westside Story, set forth above, is silent on a lot of details and does not convey the emotional intensity that is felt when watching the musical, therefore it is worthwhile to personally witness this magnificent work or familiarize yourself with the movie of the same name.