``West Side Story'', which has become an eternal masterpiece, is an innovation that was ahead of its time and a perfect film adaptation from the stage.

"West Side Story" synopsis

Downtown New York, West Side. In this city with many immigrants, two groups were at odds with each other. The Jets are European immigrants led by Riff, and the Sharks are Puerto Rican immigrants led by Bernardo. One day, Bernardo's younger sister, Maria, is taken to her first dance party by members of the Shark Gang. There, Maria falls in love with a young man. However, it was an unforgivable love. His name is Tony, and he is the former leader of the rival jet group...

Index

• It was a ``moderate'' success when it premiered on stage.
• The dancing is real, and the singing can be dubbed. and an unusual opening
• An appeal to diversity that still appeals today

It was a ``moderate'' success when it premiered on stage.

As Steven Spielberg is working on the remake as his first musical, ``West Side Story'' is a rare masterpiece that stands the test of time.

By the way, the title of the 1961 movie version released in Japan was ``West Side Story'', and ``West Side Story'' was used in the Shiki Theater Company's version of ``West Side Story in Japan. There are multiple title notations, but we will use the movie title here to avoid confusion. It was 70 years ago, in 1946, that composer Leonard Bernstein, choreographer Jerome Robbins, and playwright Arthur Laurents began work on West Side Story.

Bernstein and Robbins co-wrote the ballet "Fancy Free," which was developed into a musical called "On The Town." It was also made into a successful film called `` Odori Ohimo Iku '' (1949). Robbins wanted to depict ``Romeo and Juliet'' as a modern musical, and created a work that combines street gang conflict and the tragic love story between a young Jewish man and a Catholic Italian girl on New York's Lower East Side. Conceptualized. However, production was repeatedly postponed due to the busy schedules of Bernstein and Lorenz. Eventually, the stage was changed to the West Side to suit the circumstances of the times. The main characters are a young Polish man born in New York and his Puerto Rican daughter who came to New York as an immigrant. This adaptation brings in Stephen Sondheim as lyricist.

"West Side Story" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

West Side Story opens at Broadway's Winter Garden Theater in 1957, with the musical's golden team of Robbins, Bernstein, Sondheim, and Lorenz. Every element was revolutionary at the time. Although it's a musical, it has a tragic ending. Bernstein's music incorporates classical elements. It is true that these things confused the audience, and no one would have expected that the work would become so talked about later. Compared to the previous year's long run of 2,717 views for ``My Fair Lady'' (the most in history at the time) and 1,443 views for ``The Sound of Music'' in 1959, ``West Side Story'' had 732 views. It has since closed, and has only won two Tony Awards in the choreography and set categories.

The trend of popular Broadway musicals being made into movies goes back a little way to Oklahoma! ” (Premiered in 1943 → Filmed in 1955), “ South Pacific ” (Premiered in 1949 → Filmed in 1958), “ The King and I ” (Premiered in 1951 → Filmed in 1956), “ My Fair Lady ” (Premiered in 1956 → Filmed in 1964), " The Sound of Music " (Premiered in 1959 → Filmed in 1965), and became "common knowledge". The film ``West Side Story'' was released just four years after its premiere. In addition to the short intervals, the dance element is more intense than other works, so it was inevitable that choreographer Jerome Robbins would continue to fully cooperate with the film version.

"West Side Story" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

The film version of West Side Story is co-directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. As a choreographer, Robbins mainly directs the dance scenes and helps Wise, who has no experience in musical films...This is just a premise, and Robbins, who is a perfectionist and has a strong sense of self-assertion, will help the dancers... Robbins was forced to leave the set at the end of filming due to the excessive physical demands that were placed on the film, leading to a significant schedule overrun and budget overrun.

The dancing is real, and the singing can be dubbed. and an unusual opening