West Side Story. A Musical

by Arthur Laurents, James Bean (Editor), Leonard Bernstein (Composer)

Shakespeares Romeo und Julia im Dschungel einer amerikanischen Großstadt, ins Unglück getrieben nicht durch eine mittelalterliche Familienfehde, sondern durch Rassenhass – einer der größten Erfolge der Musical-Geschichte, ein Dauerseller im Plattengeschäft, eine Filmlegende.

Ungekürzte und unbearbeitete Textausgabe in der Originalsprache, mit Übersetzungen schwieriger Wörter am Fuß jeder Seite, Nachwort und Literaturhinweisen.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Theatre, Music, Musicals, Drama, Fiction

136 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, librettist, stage director, and screenwriter. His credits included the stage musicals West Side Story and Gypsy and the film The Way We Were.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw the Chicago Lyric Opera production of this tonight with my daughter, who had never been to the Lyric, which is a pretty amazing building. We read this, will see Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968!), read the play, see the original (1968) movie, and read around these texts a bit together. So fun!

What a wonderful production, too, just amazing, of one of the great musicals, from Sondheim and Bernstein, mostly replicating the original Jerome Robbins choreography. Happy! A great romantic musical.

Maria, from the original film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyofW...

Tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7xTv...

[Huda Aweys · Rating 3 out of 5]

مسرحية خفيفة أعادت صياغة (روميو و جولييت) لشكسبير في قالب جديد يتناسب و متغيرات القرن العشرين ، و اضفت لها بعد سياسي عن العنصرية و مشاكل المهاجرين او الملونين في امريكا ، و آخر اجتماعي عن مشاكل الجيل دا من الشباب وقتها في العموم ..
*****
شفت الفيلم و ماكانش كافي بالنسبة لى انه اشوفه بس .. كان لازم اتفرج على المسرحية معروضة ايضا او الأوبرا بمعنى أصح لأنها لما اتعرضت اتعرضت كأوبرا ألفها
Leonard Bernstein
و الأوبرا هي عمل مسرحي ايضا لكنه غنائي و قد يحوي رقص و استعراضات زيه زي العرض المسرحي العادي .. بل ان الأوبرا المجال فيها اوسع للرقص التعبيري و الحركة عن المسرح كمان زي ما هو معروف
...
.. المهم :) كنت باقولكم انى كان لازم اتفرج عليها معروضة لأن كلمة مسرحية عموما بتعني عمل أدبي درامي معروض على المسرح :) يعني لازم اشوفه معروض على المسرح و موش كفايه أقرأه و بس ابدا :) و الا موش هيوصلني كفايه .. فباحاول (على قد ما اقدر) اني اتفرج على المسرحيات اللي اقراها لدرجة انى بقيت ابحث اولا عن ما اذا كان فيه لينك لمشاهدتها على المسرح او ، لا ، عشان اقرر اذا ماكنت هاقرأها ام ، لا احيانا ! .. خصوصا لو المسرحية او الفيلم او الأوبرا او العمل الفني عموما صيته كان أعلى من صيت نصها الأدبي المكتوب
بل رحت لأبعد من دا و بقيت ابحث عن المسرحيات المعروضة و اللي فيه لينكات لمشاهدتها و المسرحية اللي تعجبني و اقرر مشاهدتها ابدأ في البحث عن نصها الأصلي و قراءته
*****
و
West Side Story
فيلم كان او نص او مسرحية ...
كان من الأعمال اللى روجت لحرب الشوارع و العصابات في أمريكا و العالم كله وقتها رغم المظهر اللي حاول القائمين عليه فنيا و ادبيا من انهم يلبسوه له على انه عمل ضد العنف و بيحث على السلام و المحبة .. لأن ببساطة (موش بكاء فتاة على حبيبها) هو اللي كان ممكن يجمح هؤلاء عن كل طاقات المتعة و القوةالكاذبة و المغامرة المبتذلة و التحدي الأهوج الفارغ اللي هيأه لهم شهودهم لتلك الحروب اللي دارت مابين العصابتين طوال العمل ...
و القائمين على النص كانوا عارفين كده :) .. زي ما القارئ عارف كده .. زي ما الأخ اللى ورا عارف كده :) ، بس هو الكذب و الادعاء باسم الفن و الحرية و الحب (و البتنجان) كالعادة
.....
كعمل فني و استعراضي و بالمناسبة هانزل بس للمقارنة بفيلم (غرام في الكرنك) :) و اللي شايفه فعلا و من غير أي مبالغة انه ماكانش اقل كتير في المستوى (الفني و الاستعراضي) عنه .. فيه فرق واضح طبعا في الحرفية لصالح
(West Side Story)
الا ان الهوة ماكانتش كبيرة كده مابيننا و بينهم
*****
دا اقتباس من الفيلم لأني مالاقيتوش في النص العربي و موش متأكدة ان كان تقصير من (المترجم) ، و لا زيادة عن النص الأصلي في (الفيلم) و لو اني ارجح الأولى ..، و حتى لو زيادة عموما فهي ما أخلتش بروح النص و معناه على أي حال ..

GS : Skyscrapers bloom in America
Cadillacs zoom in America
Industry boom in America
.....
BS : Twelve in a room in America
*****
GS : Lots of new housing with more space
.....
BS : Lots of doors slamming in our face
*****
GS : I ll get a terrace apartment
.....
BS : Better get rid of your accent
*****
GS : Life can be bright in America
.....
BS If you can fight in America
*****
GS : Life is all right in America
.....
BS : If you re all-white in America
*****
GS : Here you are free, and you have pride
.....
BS : Long as you stay on your own side
*****
GS : Free to be anything you choose
.....
BS : Free to wait tables an shine shoes
Everywhere grime in America
Organized crime in America
Terrible time in America

[Nadja · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best classic musical of all time. The story, the songs, and the dances (in my mind). Simply perfection.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best musicals of all time!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proof that I've watched the movie too many times. If the dialogue did not follow the movie or the songs were out of order it bothered me. I like the written play, but I prefer the movie. They stayed very close to the original script, but the movie has more flavor.

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of the day, I think the 2021 movie (one of my personal favorites) made a lot of very strong changes that led to me not enjoying this script as much as I would the script for that.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

West Side Story, based on plays by William Shakespeare and Jerome Robbins


Although not as famous as the original Romeo and Juliet, on which this modern version is based, West Side Story is one of the classics that has seen its lyrics and songs transmigrate into other films.

Both Analyze This and Anger Management have two of the titans of the cinema sing one of the popular tunes of the quintessential musical: “I feel pretty, oh so pretty…I feel stunning and…gay” – interesting to notice that at the time of this production there was yet another significance to this word.
The plot is familiar from Romeo and Juliet, although there are elements from the present day world that sound so relevant- in a world where so many nationalistic parties are on the rise, attacks against foreigners and animosity or hatred towards other groups are so rampant, the background of West Side Story could be set in the present.

Like the Montagues and the Capulets in Verona in the middle ages, the White Jets and the Sharks clash with each other and dispute each other’s right to “trespass” and walk in territory controlled by one or the other of the gangs.
Tony belongs to the White Jets, led by his friend Riff, while the other protagonist, Maria- portrayed by the stunning Natalie Wood- is the sister of the other gang head, Bernardo and this makes the love affair between the two leading characters undesirable, at least in the eyes of their respective communities.

Part of the appeal of this classic feature resides in the lesson, the message that it sends- adapted as it might be from the Shakespearian archetypal tragedy- that tribal violence and hatred has awful results and peace is the way to settle disputes.
There are some minuses that one could find in the treatment of the plot, like the too simple dialogue – although this is relative, one could dispute this and say that this exactly how ordinary people talk or used to in the poor neighborhoods where the personages live and work.

Then there is the matter of the organized fight and the change brought about by Maria, who should have kept quiet and then none of this would have happened- another perspective is possible here: the rumba had to be danced, people had to be killed, for we have the modern day Romeo and Juliet and this is how it ends in the original, although there is a significant change in the finale in the West Side Story version.

When Tony meets Maria he is flabbergasted- “Maria, I’ve just met a girl named Maria…the most beautiful sound I ever heard” the whole world is changed, the hero wants to be friends with everybody, including the enemies that prepare a collision with his own friends.
As the two opposing gangs meet at Doc to establish the playground – or is it the battle ground?- the weapons, the protagonist is set to make it as tame as possible and avoid any injuries, in an effort at damage control he insists on a fist fight, without knives, bricks and other dangerous objects.

He uses creativity and cunning, calling the warring factions chickens, since they are not ready to get to the battle with skin on skin only, provoking and challenging the macho men into accepting his version, when the police officer in charge with the area arrives.
The latter uses the same technique, insulting the Puerto Ricans- the Sharks gang is entirely organized around the community originating from that island- in order to provoke them into giving him information, then pretends to the white Jets that he is one their side and asks where the clash will be.

The young men are determined to fight for their misguided beliefs though and the police officer learns nothing about the battle he wanted to prevent, and they meet at the established point, where the clash follows the established procedure, Alhamdulillah.
However, this is not for long, and the moment when the profundity of another Shakespearean line „Hell is paved with good intentions” arrives, as the primed Tony arrives to eliminate all conflict, not just as fisted one.

His love, Maria, made him promise that he would go to the place of the rumble and stop it, only as he tries to prevent the fighters from engaging in any kind of confrontation, things get worse, and instead of resulting in just a few bruises and one or two black eyes, two dead are left on the field.
When talking about love- the ultimate, most complex human feeling of all and the most difficult to describe, understand and surmise- one can think of Thomas Mann and one of his magnificent short story in which the protagonist is upset by the frequency with which humans make wrong references to this sublime, spectacular emotion…

He was able to hear people near him complain that they “have no words to express how deep, big, all conquering their love is”, when the hero of the narrative is sure that words like love and friendship have a real correspondent only in…fiction, for in real life, we are not ready to go as far as it is requested by real feelings like love and friendship.
Well, in West Side Story, there is “real” love, for Maria proves that she would go as far as it takes for the man she loves, she will forgive him for the pain inflicted, for any – accidental or not- murder he may commit and she would travel to the end of the earth for him…if given the chance that is.

West Side Story is the winner of ten Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture, the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy, the BAFTA for Best Film from any Source and other prestigious prizes, but unless you love musicals, the two hours and thirty-three minutes of the feature might seem a bit long for you.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little surprised at this when I got around to reading it and listening to the music. The book is great, and I had few problems with the pacing, dialogue, or stage directions. However, the music was a little disappointing. There were a few songs that didn't seem to add anything...meaning if you cut them out the story would still be completely understandable. Oftentimes, they weren't great lyrically/musically either. There were a few gems from Sondheim's lyrics but overall I thought this was far from Sondheim's best.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. I don't want to talk about the book/musical or whatever you want to call it. It was good. Really. I enjoyed it.
But... the movie. I love it :)
I remember snapping my fingers through the hallways of my JHS with friends for weeks after watching it. Haha!

[Nate Hipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: This play is one of many cultural touchstones I've somehow passed over. I had to read a play for a class and my first choice fell through so I read this one. And it was SO GOOD. I can't even imagine how incredible it would be to see it performed.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story. Very much like Romeo and Juliet, but with different groups in conflict. Read it in high school because I thought it would be interesting.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still pouting that I wasn't cast as a Jet. To my amusement, a recent NC Shakespeare Festival performance of Romeo & Juliet featured a short-haired young woman playing Mercutio.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book itself was pretty good.As for the ending and the two main characters,I thought the ending was just bad,and I did not like the two main characters.
( On my summer reading list)

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Somewhere, a place for us.” But in West Side Story, that place is heartbreakingly out of reach.

Arthur Laurents’ West Side Story—adapted from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—isn’t just a musical script. It’s a gritty, lyrical portrait of urban America split by race, pride, and the illusion of territory. Set in 1950s New York, the Jets and the Sharks, two rival street gangs, dance, fight, and dream across a concrete jungle where love blooms like a wildflower in a crack—and dies just as suddenly.

What hits hardest isn’t the tragedy, which you expect, but the hope that somehow clings to every line. Laurents’ writing—alongside Bernstein’s music and Sondheim’s lyrics—crackles with energy, anger, and yearning. The story doesn’t beg you to believe in peace—it dares you to.

I read it in 2020, that surreal Covid year when the world stood still. No sirens, no street brawls—just silence and sirens of a different kind. Reading West Side Story then felt like unlocking a city’s heartbeat when your own street was empty. It reminded me that even in lockdown, art roared on, snapping its fingers, daring the darkness to dance.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Somewhere there must be a place we can feel we‘re free,
Somewhere there‘s got to be some place for you and for me.“

I remember I went to the musical in 2018 and it was amazing. So I had to pick up the book to see if I would still like and enjoy it. I sure did. It even had a few funny parts in it that I totally forgot about. I also love the songs. When I heard them again they brought be back some memories that made me feel 15 again.
Immediately after I finished the book I watched the movie (2021). I enjoyed this one as well, it even made me cry, but there are some differences compared to the book, but not necessarily in a bad way.

[Micaela *CLONAZINE* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Espectacular. Todo sucede como las manecillas de un reloj. Vi primero la película así que leer el material de origen aporta un montón para apreciar más la historia y ver detalles que se me hayan perdido de vista. Me sorprende que en la película cambiaron el orden de algunas canciones y sin embargo es una adaptación muy fiel que entiende la obra que quiere representar.

Una obra maestra, inspirada en otra obra maestra como lo es ROMEO Y JULIETA. Inalterable ante el paso del tiempo, relevante, conmovedora, romántica. Quedé completamente embelesada con la historia.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for my tutorial, The Great White Way. I LOVED the music in this play and it was interesting to dicuss the racial implications of the time and how they are reflected in the show. I especially enjoyed dissecting "America."

[Sarita Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this play in preparation for seeing the movie with my daughter. I've already seen the movie, so I know the story, but I thought it would be nice to read it. It didn't disappoint. A classic, heartbreaking story.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing how Romeo and Juliet ends, I liked how this ends.

[Melanie Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's interesting to read this musical in the age of Trump not knowing that Puerto Rico has been part of the States since the late 1800s.

[Fly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird placement of the Officer Krupke song; I think the movie did well to move it to the first act!

[Jennifer Fann-Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Classic

[char]

add this to the short list of musicals that were made better by the movie adaptations!!

1: hairspray
2: west side story

that’s it.

[Merle · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best classical musicals of all time and I am still hoping to see it live one day

[Emily’s Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

i fear i’m a slut for a romeo and juliet retelling this was so good

[Elfrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

West side story is a play that was on broadway and also made into a book and a movie. This play is about to rivial gangs fighting over a street. The leader of the Jets (Whites) riff does'nt the leader of the Sharks (Purto ricans) Benardo. Benardo sister ends up falling in love with Riff's bestfriend Tony which is also a Jet and this causes more problems in the gang. Benardo ends up killing Riff and Tony kills Benardo for revenge and Chino a Skark kills Tony for revenge and at the end both gangs come together because they dont want to see no more killing.

[Adam Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such mixed feelings! On one hand, this is one of the best scores from the genre of musical-theatre, especially orchestrally. But on the other hand… “Gangsters” are skipping, dancing and singing! Does this work or not?? Spielberg seems to think so, for he and Tony Kushner are giving the story a re-up (which shows how desperate and out of touch Spielberg has become), but I have my doubts that this will invite a new generation to appreciate the musical.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the best music in all of Broadway. The script gets away from them now and again, but there's a reason it remains such a favorite.

For more on our favorite musicals tune in to this special episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Edy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great companion piece to Romeo and Juliet. Love it. Love the music from the musical as well.

[Agustina · Rating 3 out of 5]

.