Anyone who has an interest in theater or broadway has heard of the musical West Side Story. It is effectively one of the best and most well-known musicals of all time.
To understand why this production achieved the grand magnitude appeal that it did, one first should become friends with the team behind the scenes. With a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, this musical brought together a collaboration of geniuses! Each one of these individuals were household names in their own rights, but their fusion as a collective group produced a musical phenomenon.
As I hope we’ve learned thus far, West Side Story came out of the modernist/realist movement that became the trend of plays and other imports to the theater genre between the 1930s and 1950s. West Side Story, which was originally brought to Broadway in 1957, was set during the 50s and follows a sort of Romeo and Juliet story of star crossed lovers, Maria and Tony, who come from two conflicting families, the Sharks and the Jets. These families, however, represent a greater conflict in American society, which was that of the immigration of Puerto Ricans to New York. The Sharks represented the Puerto Ricans and the Jets represented the white Americans.
Not only was this conflict between races a relevant topic at the time, but the musical’s sole focus is on the adolescent population. Throughout the entire musical the only members from an older generation that you see are Doc, who owns the shop that the Jets frequent, and the police officer who must constantly make an effort to stop any sort of conflict between the Sharks and Jets. This appeal to a younger audience reflected the realist time period as well because it recognized the new found enthusiasm from the nation of the promise in the future because of the success of the youth. West Side Story hoped to attract that audience and offer them a means to ease the tension and conflict between various “other” groups who were immigrating into American society.
Today America prides itself on being a melting-pot of various different races. Currently there is no great tension between any two groups, but then why has a revival of the popular 1950’s musical stepped onto the stage?
Starting in Novemeber, West Side Story will be making an appearance at the famous Pantages Theater right on Hollywood Blvd. This revival addresses another important characteristic of the theater; that theater is timely and can teach an audience about a specific time period. Reviving West Side Story for today’s society allows the audience to both be entertained by the experience, as well as be educated about American during the 1950s. Although the conflict between the white race and the Puerto Rican race is not currently a major social issue, this revival allows the public to relive this experience and hopefully learn from it, so as not to have to relive it.
If you get a chance, take part in this socio-political revival and go see West Side Story!
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