Unit 4 - Historical Context of Performance
Historical Context of West side story In 1949, dancer and choreographer Jerome Robbins suggested to composer Leonard Bernstein that they join forces on a modern musical version of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.The writer Arthur Laurents was called into work on the libretto. The stage version of West Side Story opened in previews/tryouts on August 20, 1957, in Washington D.C. Following this and another preview engagement in Philadelphia, the musical opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater, September 26, 1957 . The original 1957 Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince , marked Sondheim's Broadway debut. It ran for 732 performances before going on tour. The play was influenced by S...
