What's the context of West Side Story?

Question

Please tell me the When, Where, Historical, Social, and Cultural conditions of West Side Story.

A link to where you found the information would be very good =). Thanks~!

Answer 1

Hi.West Side Story is a motion-picture musical about star-crossed lovers from different cultures in New York,based on the 1957 stage play by Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins,which was itself inspired by Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Released in 1961,the film won ten Academy Awards,including those for Best Picture.Best Director,and best music.Maria(played by Natalie Wood) travels to the United States from Puerto Rico and quickly learns to avoid the Anglo-Americans and their gang,the Jets.
The brother of Maria's best friend Anita is the leader of the rival Puerto Rican gang,the Sharks,and no one is amused when Maria falls in love with Tony, former leader of the Jets.Tony and Maria imagine a better life together,but gang warfare intervenes with tragic results, This box -office hit features the popular songs "America", "Tonight","I Feel Pretty","Jet Song",and many others.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055614/trivia


EDIT


http://www.route79.com/journal/archives/000288.html

Answer 2

seems such as you decide on somebody to place in writing an task for you. it will be pronounced that each of those 3 products is a different musical form. Petrushka is a ballet approximately puppets that come to life, West area tale is a Broadway musical approximately rival gangs in NYC that has lots of bodily not person-friendly dance and Otello is an opera with the aid of Verdi that has a ballet in the 0.33 act that's often surpassed over. IMO you would be able to desire to do your own homework and choose how the characters are portrayed.

Answer 3

It is an Americanized, song and dance version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Slight changes to the scenario, but never the less the same play. Instead of a balcony think "fire escape" Verona becomes New York and there You have it.
It is just another rewrite on the original theme found in "Mariotto and Gianozza" (1476) published by the Italian, Masuccio Salernitano, in His opus "Ill Novellino" (Novella XXXIII).
Cheers, Ashleigh

Answer 4

It is a musical that was written in the 1950s. it is about 2 rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The leader of the Jets falls in love with the sister of the leader of the Sharks. It is based on Romeo and Juliette with a modern twist.

Answer 5

Let's not forget that it's set in New York, and in a boroughs of immigrant Puerto Ricans looking for opportunity in America. Songs like "I Feel Pretty", "Maria, I just met a girl named Maria", and "America" are part of our pop culture. Years ago Gap did commercials that were reminiscent of the dance scenes in the movie/musical.