Introducing: West Side Story!
West Side Story-Tonight
Background On West Side Story
For all of you NBTHS students that don't know what West Side Story is, by the time you finish viewing this informational poster, you will probably be hooked on it. West Side Story was a musical that starred on Broadway in 1957. The film had an all-star crew behind it with a libretto by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical was inspired by the William Shakespeare playwright Romeo and Juliet, which tells the love story of two young people in forbidden love who end up dying together in the end. The video above shows the two leading characters, Maria and Tony, who are in love knowing that their different backgrounds forbid them to be together.
What is West Side Story About?
Maria and Tony keep their love a secret because of two reasons: the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets are a gang made up of Caucasian Americans. The Sharks are a gang made up of Puerto Rican immigrants. As rivals, The Jets and Sharks constantly fight over a piece of turf, which the Jets claim is theirs. Bernardo is the leader of the Sharks, and also happens to be Maria's big brother. Tony is the co-founder of the Jets, and Riff( leader of the Jets) wants Tony to come back and join the Jets to fight the Sharks. When the Jets and Sharks attend a dance, Tony and Maria spot each other and fall in love immediately. However, the two conflicting gangs make it difficult for Tony and Maria to be together and in the end their love demolishes due to Tony's death.