September 26th: The Day 'West Side Story' Opened on Broadway

Inspired by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the Broadway production of West Side Story began on September 26th 1957. The American musical is set in 1950s New York, and the story involves the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks: two oppositional gangs with the Jets being from Italian-American working class backgrounds, and the Sharks with Puerto Rican roots. Similarly to Romeo and Juliet, Tony (a Jet) falls in love with Maria (the sister of a Shark). Sound familiar?
    This musical went where no Broadway production had ever gone before, bringing together the dramatic dance routines, famous singalong songs, dark storyline of love and tragedy, and most radically, the focus on the clashes in American society.
   Starting on September 26th 1957, West Side Story ran for 732 performances on Broadway, before touring around the rest of America...and then the world! Songs such as "Maria", "America", "Somewhere" and "I Feel Pretty" became ingrained in popular culture in the 1950s and beyond, with Leonard Bernstein's memorable music assuming a legendary status very quickly. Only 4 years after the debut Broadway performance, the 1961 film of West Side Story was released, winning ten Academy Awards out of an eleven nominations, one of which was 'Best Picture'. Audiences flocked to the cinemas and stages to see this classic tale of rivalry and romance, a modern resurrection of Shakespeare's iconic tragedy. Have you ever seen West Side Story? Does it deserve the honourable status it has been given over the years?