West Side Story is one of the great contributors to musical theatre, in particular Broadway where it originally opened on September 26 1957 at the Winter garden Theatre. The production ran for 732 performances before entering the world of film in 1961. However, I believe its significance lies in the heart of the theatre where the audience is subjected to different styles of music, dance and of course an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In fact, Leonard Bernstein first decided to call his play East Side Story but opted against it, due to social relevancy. Instead the story would take place on the West side of New York; Brooklyn, under a realistic urban setting, hence West Side Story. This decision may have improved the way in which we perceive the show today as the "street gang image" makes the story more effective and real to an audience of any age. In fact, the Prologue and Jet Song are very fitting to the show as they introduce the two main gangs (The Sharks and The Jets). In many ways, the music reflects the story. To begin with the slow, suave chords and motif (see below) suggest the Jets arrival, which is interrupted by the Puerto Rican, Bernado who is the leader of the Jets (Bars 41-56). Here, the first Latin theme is heard by 4-pitched drums. As the hostility between the two gangs develops, so does the music's complexity with the use of tritons, ostinatos, often across the beat (E.g. Bar 22 -28). These harmonic and rhythmic ideas are typical of classical music, first used some four hundred years ago, yet here they are featuring in a musical. This is just one justification of the importance West Side Story had on musical theatre. Its true subject was the growing menace of juvenile delinquency, as Bernste... ... middle of paper ... ...e time and has paved the way for so many more musicals in the past fifty years. W.S.S. established a new gritty style, which inspired later shows like Cabaret and Les Miserables. It showed how a strong plot offers more dramatic and musical potential than a dependence upon the bright and cheerful themes of the preceding era dominated by composers such as Rogers & Hammerstein and Gilbert & Sullivan. In my opinion too many shows have tried to follow in the footsteps of West Side Story, such as Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat but lack the detail of composition. It tries to incorporate too many different styles of music from 50s rock to French song to typical 90s pop. Leonard Bernstein was able to form a balance in his music; a superb adaptation of one of Shakespeare's finest plays applying modern day ethics and cultures, something that had never been created before.
One of its numerous strengths was the costuming and set. This musical would not have been the same had these elements not come together to transport the viewer. In addition to the costuming and the set, the actors were very well cast. Each actor was in a role that fit them and they portrayed their characters very well. For example, the man who played Glen really seemed like a greedy Wall Street worker. The choreography was also well done. It fit true to the style of dance in the 1980s and added to the immersion experience. The only thing that could have made this experience better would be to add more music. This may just be a personal preference, but when I see a musical I like for the music to be central like it is in Hamilton or Les Miserables. However, this musical was very good and not much could be added to enhance the
West Side Story is a book about two gangs living in a large city. The Outsiders is a book with the same concept, two gangs that are archrivals. Even though two different authors wrote these books during two different time periods, they have the same story line. These books are realistic, because gang rivalry is still going on today. They are different, since they were written separately. Also, both these books have different problems between the main characters. Still, West Side Story and The Outsiders have many similarities.
In the opening prologue, Bernstein quickly establishes the tension between the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks with the use of syncopated staccato major and minor third chords. This is intensified when the Jets start clicking their fingers in time to show unity within the gang. The upbeat to bar 12 marks the entry of the Jets’ leitmotif consisting of an octave jump, a falling minor 3rd, a falling major 3rd, and finally a falling augmented 4th.
In West Side Story, as the camera swings grandly down out of the sky, the audience discovers the Jets, a gang of tough kids, twitching restlessly in a playground park. As the camera continues to descend it captures bodies moving gracefully and fiercely in frequent spontaneous bursts of dance. As the strong blend of drama, dance, and music unfolds, the story of the Sharks and the Jets and their endless fighting begins to unfold as West Side Story. The film tells the story of two of New York City’s rival gangs, the Sharks (a Puerto Rican gang) and the Jets (a white European Immigrant gang), and their endless feuding. Both gangs are continu...
This presented a huge challenge to the creators. West Side Story, for the first time in a musical, exposed the harsh reality that things don’t always work out and sometimes hatred has the final say. It’s a painful universal truth that we can still pluck out of today’s headlines.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were both writers and producers in the theatre, but, their collaborative venture in the 1940’s introduced a new era of musical theatre. First, they wrote the first musical in which every element: music, lyrics, narrative, and even dance contributed to telling the story, each part blending and woven into the whole. Their new idea was a huge sensation with audiences, and brought with it, new recordings of shows with albums and records to follow and revival productions around the world. The duo changed the fate of musical theatre practically overnight, but, it couldn’t have been done without the projects, big or small, that got them there, their
In Romeo and Juliet the setting takes place on Juliet’s balcony after she has just come home from the Capulet ball and has met fair Romeo. She is speaking aloud to herself when Romeo hears her and interrupts. This scene contains so much tension because Romeo has snuck into her garden and if he were to be caught, he would be killed. In Westside Story, however, the fear is of Bernardo coming home and seeing them together creates a different kind of tension.
Throughout history, mankind has changed and been influenced by the acts of one another. Sociologists have studied the behaviors of humans and they have coined numerous terms, theories, and principles to try and describe why humans behave the way they do. In the movie West Side Story numerous sociological terms are depicted, such as labeling theory, social norms, formal and informal sanctions, and the results of what governs groups within society when all else fails.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. West Side Story is a classic American musical based on the classic story "Romeo and Juliet". The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. However, we should inspect how the musical film through its music, its dances, its romantic melodrama, and its exoticism of cultural differences distracts from the racism in it. How does it attract, interpellate, and position ideologically the perceiving spectator — whose social construction of reality and racial differences belong to the U.S.A. — by spatially dividing
Also the songs really present the build up of certain situations on the stage and put a lot of attitude in the specific scene. For example the “ Jet Song” is the first song in the play. This is sung by a jet and it shows how much of a family they are. Another important song that is sung by Tony is “Something is Coming”. Tony sings this song to express his true feelings about the jets and how he has moved on from them. He has a gut feeling that something wonderful is going to take place soon in his life. Tony also sings a song called “Maria” which is about the girl he fell in love with at first sight. Maria sings a song called “ I feel pretty”. She sings this and explains how she is so in love with tony and she describes how nothing will tear her love with him apart. Riff sings a song called “cool” and it express his attitude and how he carries himself in fights, he means well and wants the best for the gang. All of these songs show how music can be a very powerful tool to express feeling and help be in that character 's
Chicago When I first watched Chicago at the movie theater, I was not fully satisfied. I wanted more, so I went back to get some and watched it six more times with different friends and family members! Last summer during a visit to my native Mexico City, I had the opportunity to watch drag queens perform several numbers from the movie musical. They did an amazing job, without surpassing the outstanding performances of the actors in the film. Last year, I visited NYC for the first time and indulged in the rows of the Ambassador Theatre.
1. Riff- He is the leader of the Jets. Founded it with Tony. A wild man that acts like a punk and dies in a fight.
Realities of West Side Story Filmed in 1961, West Side Story is a modern-day telling of Romeo and Juliet. Two youths struggle with their forbidden love as two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, duel. At the end of the film, Maria says, “You all killed him [.] with hate!” This is a universally acknowledged theme that hate can kill. West Side Story is said to be a “morality play about “our” everyday problems: racism, poverty, and the destructiveness of violence”.
Although fictional, the real storyline is the writing of "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare. The story line is wonderful. In addition, there are very educational aspects to the movie, which focuses on theatre in the days of William Shakespeare. The theatre life is educational and the reflection of scenery in theatres of this time seems well depicted. The theatre life of these times is called Elizabethan.
West Side Story came out in 1961 as a melodramatic musical that took place in New York. It takes the same theme as Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet, in that it is about two lovers whose relationship is not accepted by others because of conflicting backgrounds.