The Origins of West Side Story
West Side Story originated with the idea of choreographer Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) to set Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in rival Jewish and Catholic New York slums. Annotations by composer Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) in his copy of the play described the show as “an out and out plea for racial tolerance” and suggested that a proposed “Song on Racism” be entitled “It’s the Jews.” The final version, transposed to white and Puerto Rican street gangs, retained Bernstein’s early aim to present “a tragic story in musical comedy terms.”
<em>West Side Story</em> originated with the idea of choreographer Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) to set Shakespeare’s <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> in rival Jewish and Catholic New York slums. Annotations by composer Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) in his copy of the play described the show as “an out and out plea for racial tolerance” and suggested that a proposed “Song on Racism” be entitled “It’s the Jews.” The final version, transposed to white and Puerto Rican street gangs, retained Bernstein’s early aim to present “a tragic story in musical comedy terms.”