Lesson for General Music Class: How the writers of West Side Story used music and dance to tell a tragic love story
Materials needed: CD player and cast recording of the musical
and/or DVD of the film
Student objectives:
Students can relate the basic story of the musical.
Students can list the major characters in the story.
Students can name at least three songs in the musical.
Students can describe how the songs help tell the story.
Background:
West Side Story was a groundbreaking work created by Leonard Bernstein, music; Stephen Sondheim, lyrics; and Arthur Laurents, book. Suggested by William Shakespeare’s tragic play Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story was set in modern-day New York City and conceived, directed, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
The show premiered on Broadway in 1957 at the Winter Garden Theatre, earning great praise from critics. It was exciting and bold, but its tragic ending and serious themes made some audiences uncomfortable. It was not until the 1961 film that the musical became widely accepted as a masterpiece – a perfect melding of music, story, and dance. It won the 1961 Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Story:
The play opens with a confrontation between two street gangs: the Jets (Americans) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican). Riff, the leader of the Jets, goes to see his friend Tony, a former Jet, to encourage him to rejoin the gang. Tony, now employed at the local drugstore run by Doc, is reluctant, but finally agrees to meet the Jets at a dance. Meanwhile, Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, and his girlfriend Anita, are preparing to take his sister Maria to her first dance since she has come to America. At the dance, Maria and Tony are drawn to each other, oblivious to the conflict of the two sides brewing around them. Bernardo sees them talking and pulls Maria away, insisting that her date, Chino, take her home. As Tony follows her, Riff challenges Bernardo to a rumble. Tony finds Maria’s house and sings to her on the balcony. They pledge their love and she begs him to stop the fighting. When Tony finds out where the rumble will be, he goes with the intention of stopping it. As Tony tries to reason with the gangs, Bernardo pulls a knife and stabs Riff. Seeing his best friend lying on the ground, Tony instinctively grabs the knife and kills Bernardo. When Maria finds out there has been a fight, she is more worried about Tony than about her brother, making Anita very angry. After the two girls sing about how they loved their men, Anita agrees to go to the drugstore to warn Tony that Chino is looking for him. There the Jets taunt Anita and in anger, she tells them Maria has been shot to death by Chino. When Doc tells Tony the news, he runs to the street, begging Chino to kill him too. Maria comes towards the drugstore to meet Tony and just as he sees her, a gunshot rings out. The police arrive and Tony dies in Maria’s arms as the gang members gather around them.
Questions for class discussion or written reflection:
1. When the story starts, two gangs are “at war.” Name the gangs and their nationalities.
2 Why isn’t Tony interested in the Jets anymore? And how does Riff convince him to re-join them?
3. Why is Maria so excited about going to the dance?
4. After Tony and Maria meet and fall in love, we realize that it will never work out. Why?
5. Why does Tony kill Bernardo at the rumble??
6. Anita gets so upset by her confrontation with the Jets at Doc’s store that she lies to them. What does she
tell them??
7. Doc is a frustrated adult caught in the middle. How does he contribute to what happens in the end?
8. Name three songs in West Side Story.
9. What song or scene in West Side Story do you like the best? Why?
10. Altogether, how many people die in West Side Story?? Who are they??
11. Do you think that the kids in the gangs will change because people died?? Write your sequel to the story.
Book Sources:
“Broadway Musicals: Show by Show” by Stanley Green
“The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey” by Joseph P. Swain
“Ganzl’s Book of the Broadway Musical” by Kurt Ganzl
“Opening Night on Broadway” by Steven Suskin
