Description
West Side Story, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet in a world of urban gang violence, revolutionized the Broadway musical in terms of its plot, music, and integration of dance. The 1957 play was made into an award-winning film musical in 1961 and a 2021 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Sherman reviews the musical’s creation, discusses its innovations, and describes its performance history using a mix of audio and video clips, including those featuring the work’s creators – Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Arthur Laurents.
Dan Sherman, PhD, is an economist whose interests include opera and American musical theatre. Since 2010, Dan has given many talks and classes on film, film music, classical composers, and great musical theatre composers and lyricists. He has spoken to lifelong learning groups, university groups, and social groups in the Washington, DC area and throughout the country via Zoom.