[6][7], In 1955, theatrical producer Martin Gabel was working on a stage adaptation of the James M. Cain novel Serenade, about an opera singer who comes to the realization he is homosexual, and he invited Laurents to write the book. It ran for 732 performances before going on tour. Title: A 1961 musical film adaptation, co-directed by Robert Wise and Robbins, starred Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn. [86] Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein are billed as orchestrators for the show. West Side Story Opens December 10, 2021 Actors renowned in theater and film, those new to the silver screen, and a host of talented singers and dancers will join Steven Spielberg and his crew in bringing a new adaptation of the original, beloved stage musical West Side Stor y to the cinema for a … Other notable cast members included Suzuko Mimori as Anita, Ryuji Kamiyama as Riff, and Masataka Nakagauchi as Bernardo. [12], The original book Laurents wrote closely adhered to Romeo and Juliet, but the characters based on Rosaline and the parents of the doomed lovers were eliminated early on. Director, choreographer, and idea-man Jerome Robbins has put together, and then blasted apart, the most savage, restless, electrifying dance patterns we've been exposed to in a dozen seasons .... the show rides with a catastrophic roar over the spider-web fire-escapes, the shadowed trestles, and the plain dirt battlegrounds of a big city feud ... there is fresh excitement in the next debacle, and the next. [110], This article is about the stage musical. Bernstein had decided he needed to concentrate solely on the music, and he and Robbins had invited Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write the lyrics, but the team opted to work on Peter Pan instead. In the 2009 revival, "Cool" was performed by Riff, the Jets, and the, A 1993 recording on the TER label, the first recording to document the full score including the, The 2009 new Broadway cast album, with Josefina Scaglione as Maria, Matt Cavenaugh as Tony and Karen Olivo as Anita won the 2010. There was no caution here to frame the action for possible television cropping, or even much consideration given to a 2.35:1 "Cinemascope" presentation. West Side Story Musical - Movie Wall Art Print POster Rolled Cotton Matt Canvas Hollywood's Golden Age Famous Film Stars Photo classyclassicprints 4.5 out of 5 stars (593) $ 12.84. The production subsequently toured the UK for a second time.[38]. [102] In the third season of the series Glee, three episodes feature characters auditioning, rehearsing and performing a school production of West Side Story. As the walls of Maria's bedroom disappear, they find themselves in a dreamlike world of peace ("Somewhere"). To cheer themselves up, they lampoon Krupke and the other adults who don't understand them ("Gee, Officer Krupke"). Because of its opening date, the show was not eligible for 2020 Tony Award consideration. [108][109], From 1973 to 2004, Wild Side Story, a camp parody musical, based loosely on West Side Story and adapting parts of the musical's music and lyrics, was performed a total of more than 500 times in Miami Beach, Florida, Stockholm, Gran Canaria and Los Angeles. she yells. Anonymous. 133 of 172 people found this review helpful. The Jets and Sharks form a procession, and together carry Tony away, with Maria the last one in the procession. West Side Story is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. West Side Story is an upcoming American romantic musical drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner and choreography by Justin Peck. Doc is worried for them while Tony is convinced that nothing can go wrong; he is in love. Play it loud. View production, box office, & company info. A live, semi-staged 2013 recording by the San Francisco Symphony under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, featuring Cheyenne Jackson, This page was last edited on 26 April 2021, at 14:14. Shooting is a big part of my game,” said Mason Mendygrayl. West Side Story • April 23 - May 2, 2021 From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. In [the score], there is the drive, the bounce, the restlessness and the sweetness of our town. Laurents accepted and suggested Bernstein and Robbins join the creative team. [citation needed] The Japanese Takarazuka Revue has performed the show twice. [21] Originally, when considering the cast, Laurents wanted James Dean for the lead role of Tony, but the actor soon died. It takes up the American musical idiom where it was left when George Gershwin died. Other notable cast members included Brent Barrett as Diesel, Harolyn Blackwell as Francisca, Stephen Bogardus as Mouth Piece and Reed Jones as Big Deal. Prince refused to spend money on new construction, and Smith was obliged to improve what he had as best he could with very little money to do it. Scenic and lighting design are by Jan Versweyveld, with costumes by An d'Huys. It received the most Academy Awards (10 wins) of any musical film, including Best Picture. On September 26, 1957, West Side Story, composed by Leonard Bernstein, opens at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.For the groundbreaking musical, … West Side Story ... Robbins' energetic choreography and Bernstein's grand score accentuated the satiric, hard-edged lyrics of Sondheim, and Laurents' capture of the angry voice of urban youth. 1 on the Billboard chart for a record 54 weeks. Angry at the death of another friend, the Jets move towards the Sharks but Maria takes Chino's gun and tells everyone that "all of [them]" killed Tony and the others because of their hate for each other, and, "Now I can kill too, because now I have hate!" Anita makes Maria a dress to wear to the neighborhood dance. The show had an even longer-running London production, a number of revivals and international productions. [33] The production closed on June 27, 1959, after 732 performances. The refurbished Shaftesbury Theatre reopened with a run of West Side Story from December 19, 1974 to mid-1975. Bernstein suggested they rework East Side Story and set it in Los Angeles, but Laurents felt he was more familiar with Puerto Ricans in the United States and Harlem than he was with Mexican Americans and Olvera Street. She appears on her fire escape, and the two profess their love for one another ("Tonight"). Riff helps them let out their aggression ("Cool"). "Gee, Officer Krupke" is moved before "Cool" and is sung by Riff instead of Action, and "Cool" is sung by Ice instead of Riff. Robbins was involved with Bells Are Ringing, then Bernstein with Candide, and in January 1957 A Clearing in the Woods, Laurents' latest play, opened and quickly closed. An amazing omission on my part, as having seen it, I just think it's simply wonderful.I bought the DVD "on spec" in a CD/DVD exchange store in Sydney for $10. The 1980 Broadway production was recreated by Tom Abbott. Tony attempts to intervene, inadvertently leading to Riff being fatally stabbed by Bernardo. [52] The production closed on January 2, 2011 after 748 performances and 27 previews. You could tell that Bernstein was holding himself back in On The Town. Contrary to rumor, Sondheim did not write music for the show; his only contribution came on "Something's Coming", where he developed the main strain of the chorus from music Bernstein wrote for the verse.[28]. Recordings of West Side Story include the following: The 1961 film adaptation of the musical received praise from critics and the public, and became the second-highest-grossing film of the year in the United States. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping it can end the violence. Featured performers were George Chakiris, who won an Academy Award as Bernardo in the 1961 film version, as Riff, Marlys Watters as Maria, Don McKay as Tony, and Chita Rivera reprising her Broadway role as Anita. A 1958 production at the Manchester Opera House transferred to London, where it opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End on December 12, 1958, and ran until June 1961 with a total of 1,039 performances. the Jets dance across the streets of New York, eventually coming to a playground where they toss around a basketball. Some were wonderful singers but couldn't dance very well, or vice versa ... and if they could do both, they couldn't act. Another song, "Kid Stuff", was added and quickly removed during the Washington, D.C. tryout when Laurents convinced the others it was helping tip the balance of the show into typical musical comedy.[14]. The surround sound knocked my socks off from the opening aerial ambiance of Manhattan streets to the orchestrations themselves. Tony, Maria, Anita, Bernardo and the Sharks, and Riff and the Jets all anticipate the events to come that night ("Tonight Quintet"). They described the project as "lyric theater", and Laurents wrote a first draft he called East Side Story. [84] Yet, the same writer commented, the song "America" shows the triumph of the spirit over the obstacles often faced by immigrants. Formatted according to the APA Publication Manual 7 th edition. Robbins directed and choreographed, and it was co-choreographed by Peter Gennaro, with scenery by Oliver Smith. [16] Laurents explained the style that the creative team finally decided on: Just as Tony and Maria, our Romeo and Juliet, set themselves apart from the other kids by their love, so we have tried to set them even further apart by their language, their songs, their movement. Looking for more? [11] Meanwhile, Laurents had written a new draft of the book changing the characters' backgrounds: Anton, once an Irish American, was now of Polish and Irish descent, and the formerly Jewish Maria had become a Puerto Rican. If you do you may, like I did, sit there thrilled, swinging your head from one side of the Super Panavision screen to the other, trying to take in the overwhelming avalanche coming at your eyes, your ears and your heart. (1961). Robbins then announced he did not want to choreograph the show, but changed his mind when Prince agreed to an eight-week dance rehearsal period (instead of the customary four), since there was to be more dancing in West Side Story than in any previous Broadway show,[16] and allowed Robbins to hire Peter Gennaro as his assistant. As a result, by opening night on Broadway, none of his collaborators were talking to him. Direction and choreography were reproduced by Lee Theodore, and scenery was by Oliver Smith. However, the Spanish lyrics sung by the Sharks in the "Tonight" (Quintet) remained in Spanish. Super Panavision's aspect ratio is not as wide as Cinemascope's 2.35:1, and every square inch of screen space was used for one or another important element of composition.Bernstein's music is a tour de force. The Academy Award-winner's version stars Ansel Elgort as … Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics. Lt. Schrank arrives to question Maria about her brother's death, and Anita agrees to go to Doc's to tell Tony to wait. The production transferred to London's West End opening at the Prince Edward Theatre in October 1998, transferring to the Prince of Wales Theatre where it closed in January 2000. [19] Every other producer had already turned down the show, deeming it too dark and depressing. It was staged at the outdoor plaza of Hong Kong Cultural Centre. [96], A 2021 film adaptation, written by Tony Kushner, directed by Steven Spielberg and choreographed by Justin Peck, was filmed in 2019. I played West Side Story loud, very loud. Certificate: Passed The production's national tour was launched on July 1, 1959, in Denver and then played in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston. [citation needed] Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival performed West Side Story in 1999, starring Tyley Ross as Tony and Ma-Anne Dionisio as Maria, and again in 2009,[73] The Austrian Bregenz Festival presented West Side Story in the German translation by Prawy in 2003 and 2004, directed by Francesca Zambello, followed by a German tour. The set consists mostly of large screens featuring video, several cast members carry iPhones, and the Jets are not all white. Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise. [79] In 2011, a Lima production was produced by "Preludio Asociación Cultural" with Marco Zunino as Tony, Rossana Fernández-Maldonado as Maria, Jesús Neyra as Bernardo, Tati Alcántara as Anita and Joaquín de Orbegoso as Riff. Maxine Gordon was Anybodys. The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays. My brother, sister, and I have always had West Side Story in our lives; we refer to the work as our "fourth sibling." The first “West Side Story” movie, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, starred Natalie Wood as Maria and Richard Beymer as Tony. See the fabulous presenters and gracious winners at this year's Oscars. Anita is furious, and in anger spitefully delivers the wrong message, telling the Jets that Chino has shot Maria dead. Feeling there is no longer anything to live for, Tony leaves to find Chino, begging for him to shoot him as well. The American theatre took a venturesome forward step when the firm of Griffith & Prince presented West Side Story at the Winter Garden last evening. [59] The original balletic, finger snapping choreography is replaced by swaggering, hip-hop and latin-influenced dancing. [citation needed], A 2000 Hong Kong production had Cantonese lyrics and featured Hong Kong rock star Paul Wong as Tony. 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