"The further we get in time from when "West Side Story" was written, the more the musical's mythic dimensions come into focus. . . . The show continues to seduce in a theatrical language that remains universal."--Charles McNulty, "Los Angeles Times" "How affecting the show's central love story [remains] . . . in this epochal musical from 1957, created by one of the most talented teams in showbiz history."--Ben Brantley, "The New York Times" The groundbreaking musical "West Side Story"--re-envisioning "Romeo and Juliet" in ...
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"The further we get in time from when "West Side Story" was written, the more the musical's mythic dimensions come into focus. . . . The show continues to seduce in a theatrical language that remains universal."--Charles McNulty, "Los Angeles Times" "How affecting the show's central love story [remains] . . . in this epochal musical from 1957, created by one of the most talented teams in showbiz history."--Ben Brantley, "The New York Times" The groundbreaking musical "West Side Story"--re-envisioning "Romeo and Juliet" in the gang-ridden New York of its day--defined a theatrical generation and launched the career of its lyricist Stephen Sondheim. A much-heralded revival is currently playing on Broadway, directed by Arthur Laurents with a score by Leonard Bernstein. While the opening line of the original 1957 "New York Times" review declared "the material is horrifying," the test of time has proven the endurance of the story of star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria, told against the backdrop of the feuding Sharks and Jets. This volume will be published alongside Sondheim's nine other titles from TCG, offering a more complete portrait of his celebrated career in the musical theater. Arthur Laurents is a playwright, librettist, director, and screenwriter. His credits include "Gypsy," in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, and the film "The Way We Were." Stephen Sondheim is the composer and lyricist on such masterpieces as "Company," "Follies," "A Little Night Music," "Sunday in the Park with George," and "Sweeney Todd."
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Add this copy of West Side Story to cart. $22.98, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. (movie, musical, program) A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of West Side Story: Musical to cart. $357.00, very good condition, Sold by Raptis Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Palm Beach, FL, UNITED STATES, published by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
First edition of this classic musical. Octavo, original half cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. In 1947, Jerome Robbins approached Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents about collaborating on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, during the Easter-Passover season. The girl has survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Israel; the conflict was to be centered around anti-Semitism of the Catholic "Jets" towards the Jewish "Emeralds" (a name that made its way into the script as a reference). Eager to write his first musical, Laurents immediately agreed. Bernstein wanted to present the material in operatic form, but Robbins and Laurents resisted the suggestion. They described the project as "lyric theater", and Laurents wrote a first draft he called East Side Story. Only after he completed it did the group realize it was little more than a musicalization of themes that had already been covered in plays like Abie's Irish Rose. When he opted to drop out, the three men went their separate ways, and the piece was shelved for almost five years. In 1955, theatrical producer Martin Gabel was working on a stage adaptation of the James M. Cain novel Serenade, about an opera singer who comes to the realization he is homosexual, and he invited Laurents to write the book. Laurents accepted and suggested Bernstein and Robbins join the creative team. Robbins felt if the three were going to join forces, they should return to East Side Story, and Bernstein agreed. Laurents, however, was committed to Gabel, who introduced him to the young composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim auditioned by playing the score for Saturday Night, his musical that was scheduled to open in the fall. Laurents liked the lyrics but was not impressed with the music. Sondheim did not care for Laurents' opinion. Serenade ultimately was shelved. Laurents was soon hired to write the screenplay for a remake of the 1934 Greta Garbo film The Painted Veil for Ava Gardner. While in Hollywood, he contacted Bernstein, who was in town conducting at the Hollywood Bowl. The two met at The Beverly Hills Hotel, and the conversation turned to juvenile delinquent gangs, a fairly recent social phenomenon that had received major coverage on the front pages of the morning newspapers due to a Chicano turf war. Bernstein suggested they rework East Side Story and set it in Los Angeles, but Laurents felt he was more familiar with Puerto Rican immigrants and Harlem than he was with Mexican Americans and Olvera Street. The two contacted Robbins, who was enthusiastic about a musical with a Latin beat. He arrived in Hollywood to choreograph the dance sequences for The King and I, and he and Laurents began developing the musical while working on their respective projects, keeping in touch with Bernstein, who had returned to New York. When the producer of The Painted Veil replaced Gardner with Eleanor Parker and asked Laurents to revise his script with her in mind, he backed out of the film, freeing him to devote all his time to the stage musical. West Side Story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s, an ethnic, blue-collar neighborhood (in the early 1960s, much of the neighborhood was cleared in an urban renewal project for the Lincoln Center, which changed the neighborhood's character). The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre. Bernstein's score for the musical includes "Something's Coming"...
Add this copy of West Side Story to cart. $2,757.00, like new condition, Sold by Cleveland Book Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rocky River, OH, UNITED STATES, published 1958 by Random House.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in very good jacket. Octavo, 143pp., illustrated. A crisp, clean copy, about fine, in the publisher's light brown boards with black cloth spine. In a very good dust jacket, with a horizontal tear at the spine near the crown, the spine sunned, and some gentle sun-fading to the front panel. SIGNED by Laurents on the front free endpaper, and quite uncommon thus.
Add this copy of West Side Story to cart. $47.00, very good condition, Sold by Black Cat Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sag Harbor, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1958 by Random House.
