ipl-logo

Musical Analysis: West Side Story

1426 Words6 Pages

West Side Story is one of the darkest musical dramas of its time. It changed the face of musicals forever with its dark themes and social commentary. Opening in 1957, on September the 26th at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, no one in the audience could have predicted the heartache and social cognizance they would be taking away from this modern day musical. Set in an ethnic, working class neighbourhood of New York in the 1950’s, West Side Story elaborates on issues such as racism, sexism and blue collar frustration, all of which are still evident today. It was the simmering aggression of a society affected by the ever-consuming depression of the Cold War. It was fuelled by the rebellious nature of such literature as Catcher in the Rye and conflicted by the constant internal struggle with avid racism. The frustrating 1950’s was an uneasy time of restlessness within day to day life. The Second World War had only been over for half a decade. With the Korean War and the Cold War looming over the whole of America, …show more content…

They are warned by Lt. Schrank and Officer Krupke to stop fighting on their beat. The police chase the Sharks off, and then the Jets plan how they can assure their continued dominance of the street. The Jets ' leader, Riff, suggests setting up a rumble with the Sharks. He plans to make the challenge to Bernardo, the Sharks ' leader, that night at the neighbourhood dance. Riff wants to convince his friend and former member of the Jets, Tony, to meet the Jets at the dance. Some of the Jets are unsure of his loyalty, but Riff is adamant that Tony is still one of them. Riff meets Tony while he 's working at Doc 's Drugstore to persuade him to come. Tony initially refuses, but Riff wins him over. Tony is convinced that something important is round the

Show More
Related

  • Urinetown Musical Analysis

    301 Words  | 2 Pages

    Urinetown is the fall musical that our school magnificently performed. It centers about this town in which people have to pay to pee and a love story about two young adults trying to change the way of the town. The musical premiered in 2001 with the music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. What interested me was that the musical mocks capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism,and the whole idea of going against the corrupt government. Also, the concept of going to the bathroom is not free is unique to me.

    Read More

  • Brief Summary Of Human Targets By Victor Rios

    1287 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mark states, “No need to fake it officer. You don’t like me, I don’t like you … just search me and get it over with.” Rios concludes with account of Tonyo. He was arrested for selling drugs and was forced to take a plea deal. He served his time and tried to turn his life around.

    Read More

  • Musical Analysis Of The Play 'Rent' By Jonathon Larson

    509 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rent. Also can be used to describe something torn. No better description for this musical. Written by Jonathon Larson, Rent is a musical, based on Giacomo Puccini’s italian opera, La Boheme, which centers on a group of friends in New York’s East Village in 1989 when an epidemic of HIV/AIDS was spreading around the US, affecting the whole friend group, whether it be from having it or from having a loved one who has it. In this paper, I will be examining how the themes and genre of this play turned movie shows the belief system of both the time and the belief system held by the creator, Jonathon Larson.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Dialectical Journal

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some of the things that are paralleled in the book and 1950’s society are the idea of a perfect society and a perfect family and a perfect world where everyone was always happy the entire time. We see from the book that everyone seemed to be happy because they were too busy being distracted go to work so that they can have the money that they need to buy all of the distractions that they spend the rest of their waking hours using and worshiping. Though there was less of this type of behavior in 1950’s society because they were not many distractions this idea that Bradbury illustrated in his book that is set in the future that is our today he almost perfectly predicted the future and what we have become and how we are beginning to act and think and feel. After reading this book it is shocking how similar the people of the 1950’s are to the people of the book the women in the story are still expected to cook and to do all of the housework and everyone is expected to be a perfect family/society. This is best displayed with Mildred during the day she looks like the perfect woman but the night that she turned in Montag and was running away from the house she was described has a “her body stiff, her face floured with powder and her mouth gone without the

    Read More

  • Stephanie Coontz

    1101 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Stephanie Coontz article title "What We Really Miss About The 1950s" Sourced by the book "Rereading America" she seeks to provide insight and critical analysis into why the 1950s are so highly esteemed today and why they are so missed. Coontz sees herself as being well equipped as well as suitably verse in the elements that configure the 1900s. She even goes as far as to use a personal experience from her life during that time to give the reader a deeper understanding into the societal norms that made up the 1950s. It is quickly made evident that Coontz takes her work serious and personal. In Coontz's analysis she used a multitude of factors surrounding the struggles as well as the triumphs experienced in the 50s and in doing so she gives a wide range

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On How Ponyboy Changed My Life

    418 Words  | 2 Pages

    Randy then tells Ponyboy that he is tired of the gang violence and devastated by Bob's death, and says that he won't fight in the rumble. He tells Ponyboy about Bob's troubled family life, and describes Bob as a great friend with a bad temper. I didn't even imagine that Randy would do this and was this matured. Ponyboy has a new understanding of the Socs now. Two-Bit and Ponyboy visit me in the hospital and saw that I was very weak.

    Read More

  • West Side Story Character Analysis

    1748 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the musical West Side Story, the portrayal of the “Jets” and the “Sharks” highlight the issues of race and ethnicity that impact the formation of identity. In an article, “On Broadway”, Sylviane Gold argues that “musicals have reflected and perpetuated the racial rifts and injustices of American society” (81). West Side Story brings across the racial and ethnic divide of an America dealing with issues of identity and an influx of immigrants both in terms of its presentation of the character as well as the influence behind these characters. At first glance, the most obvious issue brought across by the musical would be that of colour.

    Read More

  • 42nd Street Play Analysis

    877 Words  | 4 Pages

    42nd Street explores this theme by placing Dorothy in a relationship with the production’s financial donor. If he isn’t happy with Dorothy, as seen in a scene near the end of the film, he threatens to pull his money, which would mean the end of the show. Gold Diggers of 1933 shows the theme by having one production shut down due to lack of finances and having another struggle to go up for the same reason. The two movies also use the same dramatic plot convention of an almost disastrous night where the lead cannot take the stage. In the end, it is our protagonists who must take the stage and save the

    Read More

  • Wicked Musical Analysis

    720 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz based on a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on 30 October 2013. It is the 9th longest-Broadway show, surpassing Beauty and the Beast. A typical performance runs for approximately two hours and thirty minutes.

    Read More

  • High School Musical Analysis

    868 Words  | 4 Pages

    High School Musical, directed by Kenny Ortega, became a cultural phenomenon post its 2006 release. Underlying in its themes of acceptance and friendship, Troy Bolton experiences a Hero’s journey. High School Musical begins just as any hero’s journey with a call to adventure(1). In a typical call to adventure, the hero is introduced in a state of mundane normalcy when information received acts as a clarion call to leave their life of normalcy and “take up the sword.” Troy and Gabriella meet at a ski resort karaoke night, marking their first duet.

    Read More

  • Rent The Musical Analysis

    1707 Words  | 7 Pages

    It is officially credited with bridging the gap between musical theatre and pop culture. Rent is a contemporary musical revolving around a group of poor, struggling, young artists, or “Bohemians.” It is set in East Side New York City in the height of the 1990s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Despite obstacles of sickness, financial difficulties, and death, the characters locate the ability to remain optimistic and positive. Rent has proceeded to become extremely successful and iconic in modern day musical theatre.

    Read More

  • Naked Spirit: A Short Story

    1213 Words  | 5 Pages

    They also tell him he should create a fake persona for his stage self, and he should never give his real name to anyone. They start to throw him different names from Ronald the Slayer to Whiskey Cream. He laughs with them, and finds it surprising that they are friendly with each other, not so competitive as the few stripper tips online made him believe. He hopes that the club he 'll be working at has a good spirit too.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Nick Flynn's Another Bullshit Night In Suck City

    2608 Words  | 11 Pages

    These people force Nick to become more of a helpful and stable person when he cares for them at the shelter. Nick follows in his father’s footsteps in a lot of ways, often drinking and using drugs at a young age. For much of his young life, he has no one to help him get better, and he is quite unstable. One person who truly enables him to act like his father is his mother’s boyfriend, Travis. Nick comments that Travis, an ex-soldier, is “fun to have around, in a frenzied sort of way...

    Read More

  • Conformity And Consumerism In Jack Kerouac's On The Road

    1154 Words  | 5 Pages

    Similarly explainable, are the adverse effects inspired by America’s push for conformity and consumerism following 1945. Regarding these years, historical statistics suggest a triumphant American atmosphere due to a victorious war outcome and economic affluence, but these positives quickly turned to negatives for certain societal sectors. Most notably, the unit that would grow to be labeled as the Beatniks. Within this crew, alongside Burroughs, was fellow writer Jack Kerouac. Kerouac’s most publicized text, On the Road, has been saluted as the quintessential novel of the 1950s and is beneficial in the fact that it conveys something that the aforementioned historical statistics cannot, emotion.

    Read More

  • West Side Story By Leonard Bernstein: Music Analysis

    302 Words  | 2 Pages

    While listening to this piece, I felt like I had butterflies in my stomach, same as feeling nervous. This was because during some parts of the music, it was very dramatic. This is one of the reasons why I like it. It made me feel like I’ve did something that deserves recognition. The music also created a scenario that sounded like a situation that was bad, that had gotten better over time.

    Read More

More about Musical Analysis: West Side Story

Open Document