West Side Story 2020
‘West Side Story’ is a classic musical production which has seen countless time on stages over the years. It was so popular in fact that it spawned a musical film of the same name. That film would go on to win ten of the eleven academy awards that it was nominated for. The original production is widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. ‘West Side Story’ single-handedly changed American musical theater after its release.
The ‘West Side Story’ Broadway production was conceived, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince, and it marked Sondheim’s Broadway debut. The Broadway production of the film ran for a total of 732 performances before it went on tour. It was then nominated, in 1957, for six different Tony awards in which it won a couple of them. This musical became what would essentially become a standard in the industry fro years to come and gave us a lot of excellent performances.
For those unaware, the musical is based off the story of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of young protagonist Tony falling in love with Maria in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York. Tony used to be a member of the Jets, a white gang, and Maria is the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Jets’ rivals, the Sharks which is a Puerto Rican gang. With its dark themes, well-written music, and extended dance numbers, the musical became an iconic part of Broadway. The film adaptation follows the story of the musical closely, to the point that it will always remain a classic.
Even in the year 2020, ‘West Side Story’ remains a film that should be shared across generations, and we will get to see a modern adaptation of the film. The new release of the film is directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner. The movie stars Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Rita Moreno, Mike Faist, and Curtiss Cook. The screenplay for the film is expected to adhere more closely to the Broadway script than the 1961 film adaptation. ‘West Side Story is expected to release on December 18th, 2020.