Over sixty years after its opening night, West Side Story is perhaps the most famous and beloved of twentieth-century musicals and stands as a colossus of musical and dramatic achievement. It not only helped define a generation of musical theatre lovers but is among the handful of shows that have contributed to our understanding of American musical identity at mid-century. Bringing together contemporary scholars in music, theatre, dance, literature, and performance, this Companion explores this explosive 1950s remake of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and its portrayal of the raw passion, rivalries, jealousy and rage that doom the young lovers to their tragic fate. Organised thematically, chapters range from Broadway's history and precursors to West Side Story; the early careers of its creators; the show's score with emphasis on writing, production, and orchestrations; issues of class, colourism, and racism; New York's gang culture, and how the show's legacy can be found in popular culture throughout the world.

lgrsnf/The Cambridge Companion to West Side Story.pdf

Cambridge Library Collection

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

01.0_pp_i_i_The_Cambridge_Companion_to_West_Side_Story
02.0_pp_ii_vi_Cambridge_Companions_to_Music
03.0_pp_vii_vii_The_Cambridge_Companion_to_West_Side_Story
04.0_pp_viii_viii_Copyright_page
05.0_pp_ix_x_Contents
06.0_pp_xi_xi_Figures
07.0_pp_xii_xiii_Music_Examples
08.0_pp_xiv_xvi_Contributors
09.0_pp_xvii_xx_Preface
10.0_pp_xxi_xxii_Acknowledgements
11.0_pp_1_100_Before_West_Side_Story
11.1_pp_3_18_Performing_Social_Relevance_in_the_American_Musical_before_West_Side_Story
11.2_pp_19_33_Bernstein_on_Broadway
11.3_pp_34_51_In_Anticipation_of_West_Side_Story
11.4_pp_52_67_Arthur_Laurents_before_West_Side_Story
11.5_pp_68_81_Sondheim_the_Kid
11.6_pp_82_100_For_a_Small_Fee_in_America
12.0_pp_101_212_The_Work_Itself_and_Its_Context
12.1_pp_103_134_The_Score
12.2_pp_135_153_Un-Gendering_Somewhere
12.3_pp_154_169_Shakespeare_in_the_City
12.4_pp_170_187_West_Side_Story_and_the_Hispanic_Problem
12.5_pp_188_197_West_Side_Story_and_the_Intersections_of_Class_Colourism_and_Racism
12.6_pp_198_212_The_Real_Gang_History_of_New_York
13.0_pp_213_282_The_Legacy
13.1_pp_215_230_West_Side_Story_and_the_Voice
13.2_pp_231_251_West_Side_Story_Suite
13.3_pp_252_265_Exoticism_Race_and_the_Broadway_Musical_in_the_City_of_Waltzes
13.4_pp_266_282_West_Side_Story_Abroad_as_an_American_Icon
14.0_pp_283_291_Select_Bibliography

2025-01-29