In 1961, West Side Story, a filmed version of the hit Broadway musical that was inspired by William Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet," was released to viewers, who just could not resist the energy and excitement of the movie. Thirty-eight years later, viewers, like myself, still cannot resist it. I had never seen the film, which was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, before, but I had always wondered why people loved this multi award-winning movie so much. After viewing the film, I think
West Side Story 1. Point out how the general setting of the play is established. Give at least two examples. The play West Side Story takes place in a suburb on the West Side of New York City. We can conclude that we are talking about a socially disadvantaged suburb as the surrounding area is described with high brick walls, not very attractive and by the presence of the two gangs – the Jets and the Sharks. We are also able to say in which time period the actions take place. As an
Part Two:West Side Story History, Summary and Other important information on West Side Story. Riff, leader of the Jets Bernardo, leader of the Sharks Maria, Bernardo's little sister Tony, a founder of the Jets Doc, owner of Doc's store/Tony's boss Anita, Bernardo's girlfriend Ice, one of the toughest Jets Lt. Shrank, police officer Officer Krupke, police officer. West Side Story came out in 1961 as an overemotional musical that took place in New York. It proceeds the same theme as Shakespeare's
West Side Story is about a conflict between two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, which comes to a head when Tony, a former Jets member, and Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks, fall in love. Although the play centers around Tony and Maria, the character of Anita (played by Karli Dinardo) caught my eye since she revealed her purple dress which was different from the reds of the Sharks and blues of the Jets and I found myself drawn to her in each scene she was present in. I also found
Love and conflict are explored in both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is a story about two star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who take their precious lives but there are also two family’s who have a feud between each other. West Side Story, directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. West Side Story is a modern day Romeo and Juliet, there are two gangs, The Jets and The Sharks that’s set in Manhattan. The two lovers are tony
The book West Side Story written by Arthur Laurents is set in the mid 1950’s, created as modern version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story is a romantic tragedy about two characters that are supposedly completely different and aren’t accepted when they fall in love. The “difference’s” between these characters is centered on the prejudice’s they had against each other. Prejudice is a harsh opinion or feeling formed previously without any knowledge or reason. The Jets and the Sharks
West Side Story is a musical that includes gang violence and full-hearted relationships Between Tony, the ex leader of the Jets and Maria, the leader of the Sharks sister. It all takes place in Verona, a township in New Jersey. The movie starts with an Ariel view of the city shifting from site to site showing off of the pleasant areas. The movie goes on to show that there is a gang of white boys that call themselves the Jets, the Jets have a rival gang made up of Puerto Rican guys that go by the
definition of what love actually means. Probably the most well known love stories of all time in the play from the 15th century, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare tells the tale of young love and fatal misfortune. With the same message the musical from the 50’s, West Side Story directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise carries out a similar story of young love and tragedy. Although some are touched by these love stories, others believe it
West Side Story By: Buthainah Alsalmi 05/29/2017 THE 100 West side story is an old musical film in 1961. It was taking from William Shakespeare`s play Romeo and Juliet. The story was about two groups of boys one from United States (Jets) lead by Riff and the other from Puerto Rico (Sharks) lead by Bernardo. There was a tension between the groups and Jets challenged Sharks for a dance. Tony invited to the dance by his friend Riff and he was not interested at first but Riff convinced him to come
Based on Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story’s emotional connection with the audience hinges on the relationship between Tony and Maria. Arguably the most important scene to develop this relationship is the adaptation of the balcony scene between the two, represented by the song Tonight. The lighting and cinematography utilized in this scene connects the two, visually bringing Shakespeare’s prose to life. The beginning of the Tonight sequence is one of the quieter scenes in the film, a contrast
West Side Story is the iconic American musical that is a 1957 Broadway production choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Arthur Laurents is the author of the original book with the setting taking place in the upper west side New York city in a blue-collar neighborhood during the mid-1950s. (The Broadway) Because West Side Story is a movie musical, it will be a lot of narrative conveyed through the song. The movie West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet have many similarities and differences consider their
West Side Story is a musical that was first a Broadway show in 1957 then a film version in 1961. Jerome Robbins conceived the idea of the musical and choreographed it as well. Other renown collaborated with him for this production to be a hit. Arthur Laurents was in charge of writing the book and Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim where in charge of the music and lyrics respectively. It is not a secret that West Side Story is what can be called the, American version of the Romeo and Juliet
‘West Side Story’ is one of the most famous musicals in Broadway history. It is a re-telling and more modern remake of Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ The same love story is there, just a more modern take on it. The slight modern message on inequality because of skin color is what makes it so modern. It has been revived many times and mostly it's always been a success. ‘West Side Story,’ is watched, taught and revived worldwide and will be for many generations to come. The producers were Robert
To begin with, the scenography mimics the aspects of Upper West Side New York during the 1950’s to allow the audience to understand the setting of play. Most of the sets depict an urban setting in which the audience can clearly see that the story takes place in a well-developed city. As for the representation and perception of the stage, most sets were seen as abstract Some of the sets created entailed Doc’s restaurant, The Playground, and Statue of Liberty. Furthermore, the relationship between
West Side Story In this musical, it uses several types of narratives, for example, after the fight between the Jets and Puerto Ricans, after the police leave, they enter the ally and the girl is begging to join the gang saying how much she wants to fight is a part of narrative sexuality (B 34). The girl is more of a tom boy who wants to be like one of the guys. Also, in the West Side Story, it uses many camera angles and distances. One
West Side Story originally premiered in 1957 but was remade into a film in 1961. The film revolves around gang violence taking place in New York City. Despite being a Hollywood film, West Side Story is not afraid to break typical film tropes. The film introduction includes an 8-minute exposition that contains minimal dialogue. The film’s prologue is able to explore the themes and the premise of the movie using usual and unusual techniques and also use dance to convey emotions that cannot be properly
social status in culture is not only shown in history, it is also depicted in several films such as the original 1968 Planet of the apes, and 1961 West side story. Both films are unique in their own ways but go hand in hand presenting specific perspectives on race and social status from the beginning of history through today. In the reading West side story by Alberto Sandoval he explains how the film perpetuates the image of racial problems explaining that the film has its profound structure expressing
West Side Story Day 4: 2-page essay The West Side Story portrays the lives of two different gangs living in America, as well as their beliefs and examples of living a good life. The expectations of what people consider the good life to be may vary on a person’s morals and their dreams of what life is truly about. In this movie, whether or not these characters were good people, lived a good life, or lived in a good society is a very controversial topic. The
It is not a secret that West Side Story is what can be called the American version of the Romeo and Juliet. It is important to note the contribution of West Side Story to the history of musical theater. The creators did their research and although it took them a long time to create this project, they came up with a game changing idea in music theater. At that time, not many plays on Broadway attempted to present musical theater productions which explored in depth, the issues of geographical, social
Assignment 3 I watched a musical called “West Side Story” during my travels to United States in this reading week. The show was performed by students from Berklee College of Music in Boston which was an excellent experience for me. West side story is set in the 50s and 60s of the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City; the musical explored the rivalry between the jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The situation becomes more complicated when a gang