The Making of West Side Story

The Making of West Side Story PDF Author: Keith Garebian
Publisher: Oakville, ON : Mosaic Press
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Get Book Here

Book Description
Each book in 'The Great Broadway Musicals Series' takes you behind the scenes of the original production of these classics of Broadway, composers, song writers and actors.

The Making of West Side Story

The Making of West Side Story PDF Author: Keith Garebian
Publisher: Oakville, ON : Mosaic Press
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Get Book Here

Book Description
Each book in 'The Great Broadway Musicals Series' takes you behind the scenes of the original production of these classics of Broadway, composers, song writers and actors.

West Side Story

West Side Story PDF Author: Richard Barrios
Publisher: Running Press Adult
ISBN: 0762469463
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 390

Get Book Here

Book Description
A captivating, richly illustrated full account of the making of the ground-breaking movie classic West Side Story (1961). A major hit on Broadway, on film West Side Story became immortal-a movie different from anything that had come before, but this cinematic victory came at a price. In this engrossing volume, film historian Richard Barrios recounts how the drama and rivalries seen onscreen played out to equal intensity behind-the-scenes, while still achieving extraordinary artistic feats. The making and impact of West Side Story has so far been recounted only in vestiges. In the pages of this book, the backstage tale comes to life along with insight on what has made the film a favorite across six decades: its brilliant use of dance as staged by erstwhile co-director Jerome Robbins; a meaningful story, as set to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's soundtrack; the performances of a youthful ensemble cast featuring Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, and more; a film with Shakespearean roots (Romeo and Juliet) that is simultaneously timeless and current. West Side Story was a triumph that appeared to be very much of its time; over the years it has shown itself to be eternal.

West Side Story

West Side Story PDF Author: Laurent Bouzereau
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 9781419750632
Category : West side story (Motion picture : 2020)
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
Featuring never-before-seen unit photography, storyboards, costume and concept designs, and behind-the-scenes photos from Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg's first musical, West Side Story: The Making of the Steven Spielberg Film is a loving chronicle of the years of effort that went into bringing a beloved story back to the screen for a new generation. Author Laurent Bouzereau was embedded with the film's cast and crew and conducted original interviews with director and producer Steven Spielberg, screenwriter and executive producer Tony Kushner, Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck, and the cast of Sharks and Jets, among many others, to bring together a firsthand oral history documenting every stage of the film's production. As relevant today as when it first debuted on Broadway, West Side Story has been reimagined by Spielberg, Kushner, and their cast of young stars, including Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (María), Ariana DeBose (Anita), and David Alvarez (Bernardo), fully embracing historical accuracy in its vibrant depiction of mid-1950s New York City and the forbid­den love of the teenagers caught between familial allegiances and passion. West Side Story: The Making of the Steven Spielberg Film provides exclusive in-depth commentary on these themes, bringing together a chorus of diverse voices to explore what it means to find a place for yourself in America.

West Side Story

West Side Story PDF Author: Leonard Bernstein
Publisher: Heinemann
ISBN: 9780435235284
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Get Book Here

Book Description
This series of contemporary plays includes structured GCSE assignments for use by individuals or groups. These include questions which involve close reading, writing and discussion. This play places the "Romeo and Juliet" story in a New York gang-warfare context.

West Side Story

West Side Story PDF Author: Elizabeth A. Wells
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0810876663
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
Wells presents a scholarly study of the American musical West Side Story, viewing the work from cultural, historical, and musical perspectives. --from publisher description.

My West Side Story

My West Side Story PDF Author: George Chakiris
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493055488
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Get Book Here

Book Description
Natalie Wood and “lovely” Richard Beymer, to the mercurial Jerome Robbins and “passionate” Rita Moreno, with whom Chakiris remains friends. “I know exactly where my gratitude belongs,” Chakiris writes, “and I still marvel at how, unbeknownst to me at the time, the joyful path of my life was paved one night in 1949 when Jerome Robbins sat Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents down in his apartment and announced, ‘I have an idea.’"

Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story

Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story PDF Author: Nigel Simeone
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351560387
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book Here

Book Description
One of the Broadway musicals that can genuinely claim to have transformed the genre, West Side Story has been featured in many books on Broadway, but it has yet to be the focus of a scholarly monograph. Nigel Simeone begins by exploring the long process of creating West Side Story, including a discussion of Bernstein's sketches, early drafts of the score and script, as well as cut songs. The core of the book is a commentary on the music itself. West Side Story is one of the very few Broadway musicals for which there is a complete published orchestral score, as well as two different editions of the piano-vocal score. The survival of the original copied orchestral score, and the reminiscences of Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, reveal details of the orchestration process, and the extent to which Bernstein was involved in this. Simeone's commentary considers: musical characteristics and compositional techniques used to mirror the drama (for example, the various uses of the tritone), motivic development, the use and reinvention of Broadway and other conventions, the creation of dramatic continuity in the score through the use of motifs and other devices, the unusual degree of dissonance and rhythmic complexity (at least for the time), and the integration of Latin-American dance forms (Mambo, Huapango and so on). Simeone also considers the reception of West Side Story in the contemporary press. The stir the show caused included the response that it was the angular, edgy score that made it a remarkable achievement. Not all reviews were uncritical. Finally, the book looks in detail at the making of the original Broadway cast recording, made in just one day, included on the accompanying downloadable resources.

West Side Story as Cinema

West Side Story as Cinema PDF Author: Ernesto R. Acevedo-Muñoz
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700619216
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
For millions of moviegoers unable to see the original stage version of West Side Story, director Robert Wise’s adaptation was a cinematic gift that brought a Broadway hit to a mass audience. Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz argues that Wise’s film was not only hugely popular, but that it was also an artistic triumph that marked an important departure in the history of American movie making. With a score by Leonard Bernstein and choreography by Jerome Robbins, this update of the Romeo and Juliet story remains one of the most revered and highly popular American movie musicals, with only Singin’ in the Rain ranking higher in the AFI’s list of the best of the genre. Acevedo-Muñoz draws on previously unreleased production documents—from interoffice memos to annotations on the director’s script—to go beyond publicity accounts and provide an inside look at this critically acclaimed film classic, offering details of its filming that have never before been published. From location scouting to scripting to casting to filming, Acevedo-Muñoz focuses on little-known details of the actual production. He provides close analyses of dramatic sequences and musical numbers, emphasizing the film’s technical innovations and its visual and aural coding as a means for defining character and theme. He carefully explains the differences between Broadway and film versions, exposing censorship and creative issues that the filmmakers were forced to confront. And taking readers behind the cameras, he highlights the creative differences and financial difficulties that led to the departure of Robbins—who had conceived and directed the stage version—long before filming was complete. Acevedo-Muñoz makes a strong case for the film’s daring vision in combining music, dance, dialogue, and visual elements—especially color—in highly creative ways, while also addressing the social, racial, and class tensions of American society. Drawing on his own Puerto Rican heritage, he provides a Hispanic perspective on the cultural aspects of the story and explores the ways in which the film’s portrayal of Puerto Rican identity is neither as transparent nor as negative as some critics have charged. Bursting with facts, insights, and inside stories, this book boasts a wealth of material that has never been explored before in print. Both history and homage, it is a must for scholar and buff alike.

Something's Coming, Something Good

Something's Coming, Something Good PDF Author: Misha Berson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493083287
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
Something's Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination takes a critical, comprehensive look at one of the most inventive, influential, and internationally beloved Broadway musicals of all time – from its inception by a brilliant quartet of creators (Robbins, Bernstein, Sondheim, and Laurents) to its smashing success on film, to its ongoing popularity on stages around the world and its potent impact on the Great American Musical. Featuring intriguing chapters on West Side Story in relation to Romeo and Juliet; as a recording phenomenon; as a film rated the second-best movie musical of all time by the American Film Institute; as part of a wave of juvenile delinquency dramas; as the first great choreographer-auteur musical; and as the granddaddy of “youth musicals” such as Hair and Rent, Something's Coming, Something Good is a revealing guide for those who have seen the show; for those who wish to study it for pleasure or inspiration; and for actors, designers, and directors planning on producing it.

A Place for Us

A Place for Us PDF Author: Julia L. Foulkes
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022630194X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
The making of the classic musical: “A fascinating read focusing equally on the show and the world into which it was born.”—Choice From its 1957 Broadway debut to multiple revivals, from the Oscar-winning film to countless amateur productions, West Side Story is nothing less than an American touchstone—an updating of Shakespeare vividly realized in a rapidly changing postwar New York. A lifelong fan of the show, Julia Foulkes became interested in its history when she made an unexpected discovery: scenes for the iconic film version were shot on the demolition site destined to become part of the Lincoln Center redevelopment area—a crowning jewel of postwar urban renewal. Foulkes interweaves the story of the creation of the musical and film with the remaking of the Upper West Side and the larger tale of New York’s postwar aspirations. Making unprecedented use of director and choreographer Jerome Robbins’s revelatory papers, she shows the crucial role played by the political commitments of Robbins and his collaborators Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents. Their determination to evoke life in New York as it was actually lived helped give West Side Story its unshakable sense of place even as it put forward a vision of a new, vigorous, determinedly multicultural American city. Beautifully written and full of surprises for even the most dedicated West Side Story fan, A Place for Us is a revelatory new exploration of an American classic.