West Side Story Chicago Tickets

Theater performances and good musicals are the backbone of healthy entertainment for public in a civilized community. But among so many of the performances going on, only a few manage to gain acclamation of a level that West Side Story has achieved.

  With its script written by Arthur Laurents, American musical named West Side Story is based on the famous play Romeo and Juliet that was written by legendary William Shakespeare. Music for the play has been composed by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics are written by Stephen Sondheim. Jerome Robbins has done choreography for the musical.
  The theme of  West Side Story is about streets of the New York City, where gangs from different ethnic backgrounds fight with each other. The background is that of mid 1950s, when the nation had not achieved the present level of civilization, and law and order situation was unstable. Such gang wars were common in the big cities during those days. The Jets were the first group that was composed of white working class people that often taunted the other groups that called itself the Sharks, and belonged to Puerto Rico. There is a lot of hatred among the two groups, and the situation does not seem to resolve anytime soon.
  The story takes a twist when Maria, sister of the leader of the Sharks and a boy Tony from the Jets fall in love with each other. Among the furious gang leaders, the two love birds show their determination with sacrifices and courage to face troubles and the musical representation of these human emotions keeps the audience mesmerized during the whole course of performance.
  There are many tracks from West Side Story that have gained fame and popularity among public. Some of those include "America", "Maria", "Tonight", "Somewhere", "I Feel Pretty", "Jet Song", "A Boy Like That", "Gee, Officer Krupke", "One Hand, One Heart", "Something’s Coming" and "Cool". The dance scenes are beautifully choreographed, and the whole package of music, dance and story with its dark and sensational theme creates an ambience that cannot be described in words.
  The musical debuted at Broadway in 1957, when it was produced by Harold Prince and Robert E. Griffith. It was also the Broadway debut of Stephen Sondheim, who gained much public appreciation after this production. West Side Story has won many awards and title, some of them include Theater World Award and Tony Awards for ‘Best Scenic Design’ and ‘Choreography’ in 1958, Drama Desk Award for ‘Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical’ for Debbie Allen in 1980, 2009 Grammy Award for ‘Best Musical Show Album’ and Tony Award for ‘Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical’ for Karen Olivo in 2009.
  For people who have a taste for good musicals and performances, West Side Story Chicago Tickets are a real treat for their aesthetic sense!