By Olivia Frasca
A beloved and timeless story, West Side Story was created and performed in New York City. The plot, taking place in a blue-collar neighborhood on the west side, tells the story of lovers from opposing gangs. Tony, a member of the Polish-American Jets, falls in love with Maria, a girl whose brother is leader of the Puerto Rican Sharks. Tensions between the gangs intensify when the Sharks enter Jet territory and when Tony and Maria pursue their feelings. This urban version of Romeo and Juliet addresses 1950s issues of immigration, racism, and gang violence in a musical setting. New York City was not the inspiration behind the production, but rather the backdrop of these social issues, the location of its diverse audience, and the dwelling of its creators.
Nancy Foner’s “Then and Now or Then to Now: Immigration to New York in Contemporary and Historical Perspective” provides a basic history of New York City immigration. Italian, Irish, and Jewish Immigrants emigrated and established their identities in New York City in the beginning of the 20th century. They altered the ethnic landscape from primarily Anglo-Saxon protestants to pan-European Judeo-Christians (Foner). Towards the mid-20th century, people of color began to settle, altering the primarily white population of New York City. By the end of the 20th century, the two largest minority groups in New York were Puerto Ricans and African Americans. “Thus, immigrants arrive in New York today to a city with a four-fold classification system- white/black/Hispanic/Asian- that is a product of the post-1965 influx and affects how they are seen and come to see themselves” (Foner). The city has become a diverse hub of people and culture since the time period depicted in West Side Story. Foner reveals a unique phenomenon: Mexicans, Dominicans, and Asian Indians immigrating in the 21st century tend to distance themselves from African Americans and Puerto Ricans to avoid the stigma associated with such identities. These new immigrants make clear their ethnicity and maintain their roots to avoid being mistaken for these groups. Such stigmas that these immigrants avoid are present in West Side Story. Whites and Puerto Ricans often competed for jobs in blue-collar neighborhoods in the 1950s, intensifying conflict between these ethnicities. The hatred between the Jets and Sharks in the mid-20th century is an accurate representation of Puerto Rican hardship in New York.
Those that have witnessed the play and film undoubtedly relate West Side Story with New York City, but the reasons vary. Diep Tran’s “Finding New York in West Side Story” explains the significance of the city in this beloved classic. “Within the libretto of the piece, no references are ever made to any city landmarks, neighborhoods, streets, or even the city itself” (Tran). New York City is just a setting in the story; the real conflict revolves around gang violence, racism, and ownership (Tran).
West Side Story was written and created by New Yorkers: Arthur Laurents is author of the book, Leonard Bernstein the composer, Stephen Sondheim the lyricist, and Jerome Robbins the director (Levine). Their main goal was to modernize Romeo and Juliet, and their original ideas differed greatly from the story performed today. The play was supposed to be set on the lower east side and called East Side Story (Tran). Street violence occurred because of religion, not ethnicities. Jews and Catholics were expected to clash in opposing gangs. Although Jewish and Catholic tensions existed at the time, by the 1950s, gang culture and racism were new issues. The creators sought to expand upon these relevant issues. The Broadway show thus moved its plot to the upper west side, an area of tenement housing, blue-collar workers, and Mexican-Americans. The film version identified the setting as San Juan Hill, an area between Columbus Circle and the Hudson River (Tran). By the 1960s, this population was driven out for the modern-day Lincoln Center construction. It is not the physical environment of the city that relates West Side Story to New York, but rather the prevalent issues it addressed, people it included, and history behind its location. The story shows a diverse cast that the audience can relate to, and touches on issues that not only New Yorkers, but all people, have experienced.
The show’s Broadway production was just as dramatic behind the scenes, if not more, than the plot itself. Sara Fishko’s, “The Real-Life Drama Behind ‘West Side Story” explains how the racism and bigotry in West Side Story’s 1957 Broadway plot is strongly connected to the social issues of that era. The McCarthy era, a period of fear of communism, was just ending by 1957 (Fishko). All four creators of the production were homosexual and Jewish, subjecting them to discrimination and possible blacklisting. Jerome Robbins, choreographer of the play, was a closeted homosexual. Many attributed Robbins’ communist accusations to fear of being exposed as a homosexual (Fishko). Robbins fostered tensions during the show’s production by deliberately trying to create antagonism between the opposing gangs on and offstage. These actors were not allowed to socialize together in real-life, making their performance tense (Fishko). The idea of presenting a story of death, racism, attempted rape, and murder as a musical was a unique idea for a Broadway show. It was these issues, which resonated with worldwide issues, combined with theater, that made West Side Story so entertaining and brilliant.
Joseph Levine’s “Review” is a critique of the original Broadway version of West Side Story, which started in 1957 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Levine sums up the story as an urban Romeo and Juliet that takes place in New York’s west side. The Capulets and Montagues are known as the Sharks and the Jets. Maria is Puerto Rican and part of the Sharks, while Tony is a Polish-American and part of the Jets. Amid the gang “rumbles,” violence, and chaos of the city, Maria and Tony fall in love across the room at a dance. “There is a fascination in watching the dramatic story unfold with its characters dressed in blue jeans and sneakers . . . Riff and Bernardo, die in one of the most realistic fight scenes ever staged” (Levine). Levine notes the juxtaposition within the play: powerful music and fierce dancing by gang members both parallel the plot of Romeo and Juliet.
Brian Eugenio Herrera’s “Compiling West Side Story’s Parahistories 1949-2009” characterizes the mid-1950s as a time of youth gangs, where urban youth engaged in street conflict. Puerto Rican migration had begun in 1946 due to postwar economic boom and affordable air routes (Herrera). The encounter between a Polish American boy and Puerto Rican girl seemed realistic and empathetic for the creators in the context of gang fascination.
Critics of West Side Story believe the story perpetuates racial messages in its lyrics and ruins the reputation of Puerto Ricans. In the film, the men and women of the Sharks share their opposing feelings about their countries in the song “America.” Anita sings of the opportunity that New York has to offer, while Bernardo counters by sharing the hardships of living in this new country. The circumstances of minority groups in New York are accurately shown in West Side Story. The Sharks live in tenements, work countless hours, and earn much less than their white counterparts. Before a performance of the show in 1957, a New York City leading Spanish newspaper threatened to picket if alterations were not made to a lyric in “America.” The lyric, “Puerto Rico-Island of Tropic Diseases” projected the image of Puerto Ricans as dangers to public health. (Herrera).
West Side Story is a continuously celebrated and criticized work. Those that applaud the production appreciate its take on gang violence and racism. The tragic ending, in which Tony, Bernardo, and Riff die, ends the rivalry between the Sharks and Jets. The play exemplifies the consequences of gang violence for urban youth, and many regard it as a way to combat real-life gangs and racism. Critics believe the production perpetuates racial stereotypes, and that the musical backdrop for such violence is inappropriate. To this day, West Side Story is regarded as a classic New York tale of love amid prejudice. Although no city landmarks were referenced, the production was created by Manhattanites and dealt with topics that resonated with 1950s New York. Audiences that watch and recreate the production experience the city and themselves in its characters, plot, music, and history.
Works Cited
Fishko, Sara. “The Real-Life Drama Behind ‘West Side Story’.” NPR, NPR, 7 Jan. 2009, www.npr.org/2011/02/24/97274711/the-real-life-drama-behind-west-side-story.
Foner, Nancy. “Then and Now or Then to Now: Immigration to New York in Contemporary and Historical Perspective.” Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 25, 2006, pp. 33–47.JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27501687.
Herrera, Brian Eugenio. “Compiling West Side Story’s Parahistories, 1949-2009.” Theatre Journal, vol. 64, no. 2, 2012, pp. 231–247., http://www.jstor.org/stable/41679580.
Levine, Joseph. “Review.” West Side Story. A New Musical, Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins by Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim, vol. 16, Sept. 1959, p. 630. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/892060.
Tran, Diep. “Finding New York in West Side Story.” Urban Omnibus, 12 Oct. 2017, urbanomnibus.net/2016/04/finding-new-york-in-west-side-story/.
