director and screenwriter‚ who was credited for the musicals from there books "West Side Story" (1957) and "Gypsy" (1959). In 1957‚ Laurents wrote the libretto for "West Side Story." Which was originally conceived by Jerome Robbins as a twist on “Romeo and Juliet”. Idea for this began with Robbins. In 1949‚ he asked Laurents to draft a script for a story of conflict between Jews and Italian Catholics on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Took five years‚ and a rethinking of Manhattan demographics and geography
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West Side Story: Education Beyond the Classroom Being at an Ivy League institution‚ it is easy to think that the best learning experiences for a student comes from the classroom‚ but I was able to witness that this is not always the case. This semester I had the privilege of participating in Melodramatics production of West Side Story. I was cast as Chino‚ second hand man of his best friend Bernardo who is the leader of the Puerto Rican gang called the Sharks. I was a bit unfamiliar with West Side
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West Side Story is a romantic musical that is set in Manhattan‚ New York City during the 1950’s‚ where a large migration of Puerto Rican immigrants started to enter the United States. A White American gang‚ also known as the Jets‚ live in the city and have had a “turf” that they protected and ran for years. When the Puerto Ricans‚ known by the Sharks started looking for a “turf” for themselves‚ they interfere with the Jets and this causes multiple conflicts. There have been an abundance of different
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There have been several moments in theatre that seems to whitewash the ethnic characters. West Side Story is one of those musicals. West Side Story is a loose musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The twist is that it’s set in 1950s New York‚ with the plot set around youth street gangs entangled in a racially charged conflict over their “territory” in the lower West Side of Manhattan. There is the Puerto Rican “Sharks” led by Bernardo‚ who has recently brought his family‚ including
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America (West Side Story) Introduction This document is the lyrics of the song America extracts from the movie West Side Story. This movie is a musical directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise in 1961. It sets in NY in the 50’s. It deals with a confrontation between two rival gangs : the Jets (american) and the Sharks (Portorican). It also deals with a love story between Tony and Maria. Their love story is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as the two lovers belong to different groups
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West Side Story is the modern take on the well-known William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette‚where Tony and Maria replaced Romeo and Juliette and are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side‚ two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang member falls in love with a rival’s sister.Jerome Robbins(Director and choreographer)‚ Arthur Laurents(Author) and Leonard Bernstein(Composer) came together with the idea to write a
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Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story Comparative Essay Two feuding families in the old city of Verona‚ and two rival gangs in New York’s West Side; what could these two scenarios possibly have in common? They both consist of a pair of star-crossed lovers and the story of their short lived love‚ which eventually ends in deaths. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Arthur Laurents’ West Side Story are similar in many ways. They both have the similar theme of forbidden love and love that is
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Stephan Weir Period 7 Criticism Ms. Kellert Essay- a question of Identity In her critique of the 1961 film West Side Story‚ Frances Negron-Muntaner expresses her dislike of the film‚ arguing that the film portrays Puerto Rican men as criminals and gang members‚ and portraying the women of Puerto Rico as “sassy and virginal”. Though the film was not the first or last film to marginalize Puerto Ricans‚ Muntaner states that “There is no single American cultural
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“I feel pretty. Oh‚ so pretty‚ I feel pretty and witty and gay. And I pity any girl who isn’t me tonight”. One of the most popular songs from the world wide successful musical West Side Story. The book was written by Arthur Laurents. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Music by Leonard Bernstein. The star Maria who moved from Puerto Rico to live in New York wasn’t feeling pretty all the time. It was a temporary joy when she decided to love the American sharks gang member Tony. Her love lead to many major
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Love and Lust are two different things with regards to relationships. Love is when two people like something about each other‚ but having a desire for someone is called Lust. In the book "West Side Story" by Stephen Sondheim‚ two people from different gangs think they love each other‚ but from my point of view‚ they are just attracted to each other. They don’t show true love because they keep on thinking about their looks and they showed desire towards each other. First of all‚ true love is when
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