West Side Story

E40105

Broadway musical stage musical

West Side Story is a landmark American musical that reimagines Romeo and Juliet amid rival New York City street gangs, known for its innovative score, choreography, and social themes.

Aliases (6)

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Broadway musical → stage musical →
awarded	Tony Award for Best Choreography →
basedOn	Romeo and Juliet →
basedOnWorkBy	William Shakespeare →
bookBy	Arthur Laurents →
broadwayOpeningDate	1957-09-26 →
broadwayOpeningTheatre	Winter Garden Theatre →
broadwayOriginalRunLength	732 performances →
choreographer	Jerome Robbins →
composer	Leonard Bernstein →
countryOfOrigin	United States →
director	Jerome Robbins →
featuresGang	Jets → Sharks →
genre	musical theatre → romantic drama → tragic romance →
hasFilmAdaptation	West Side Story (1961 film) → West Side Story (2021 film) →
lyricist	Stephen Sondheim →
mainCharacter	Anita → Bernardo → Maria → Riff → Tony →
notableFor	innovative choreography → integration of dance into narrative → jazz- and Latin-influenced score → portrayal of Puerto Rican community in New York City →
notableSong	America → Cool → Gee, Officer Krupke → Maria → One Hand, One Heart → Somewhere → Tonight →
orchestrator	Irwin Kostal → Sid Ramin →
originalLanguage	English →
premiereDate	1957-08-19 →
premiereLocation	National Theatre, Washington, D.C. →
settingLocation	New York City →
settingTime	mid-20th century →
subject	forbidden love → racial tension → street gangs → urban violence →
theatricalProducer	Harold Prince → Robert E. Griffith NERFINISHED →

Referenced by (24)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
George Chakiris ("West Side Story (1961 film)") → Harold Prince → Leonard Bernstein → Louis Bernstein → Robert Wise → Stephen Sondheim → Steven Spielberg ("West Side Story (2021 film)") → Steven Spielberg ("West Side Story (2021 film)") →	notableWork
Somewhere ("West Side Story (1957 original Broadway production)") → Somewhere ("West Side Story (1961 film)") → Somewhere ("West Side Story (2021 film)") →	associatedWork
West Side Story ("West Side Story (1961 film)") → West Side Story ("West Side Story (2021 film)") →	hasFilmAdaptation
Palace Theatre (Broadway) ("West Side Story (Broadway revival)") → Winter Garden Theatre →	notableProduction
George Chakiris ("West Side Story (1961 film)") → George Chakiris ("West Side Story (stage musical)") →	participatedIn
Robert Wise →	directed
Somewhere →	fromMusical
Romeo and Juliet →	influencedWork
Somewhere →	partOfWork
Minskoff Theatre ("West Side Story revival") →	previousProduction
United Artists →	produced
Leonard Bernstein →	signatureWork