Jerome Robbins Play Parody

In 1957, the electrifying and acclaimed musical West Side Story shook the nation. Featuring a libretto by Arthur Laurents, sophisticated music by Leonard Bernstein, groundbreaking integrated choreography by Jerome Robbins, and hard-edged lyrics by Stephen Sondheim in his debut on Broadway, this show was nothing like America had seen before. In fact, everything about this musical was so innovative, that it was initially difficult to produce and the first audiences were unsure of how to react to it. It was dark, it was dangerous, and it was revolutionary. West Side Story’s heavy subject material, no-holds-barred representation of the social problems of its time, and energetically new choreography shocked audiences in 1957, broke all the rules,

Before West Side Story, the dancing numbers in musicals were more about the smiles, the feel-good ascetics, and the nice and pretty steps. Now, the characters weren’t just dancing to entertain, they were dancing because they had to. Every move had an objective and every dance number furthered the story and revealed a little bit about each character. Everyone on stage told a unified story through Jerome Robbins’ vision, using the art of dance to depict tragedy, violence, and injustice and to release the anger, frustration and teenage rebellion the characters felt. From the get-go, Robbins immediately integrates the dancing to portray the social and racial tensions between the Sharks and the Jets. In the first scene (“Prologue”), both gangs are dancing separately on the streets and the choreography features perfectly tight synchronization from each side, which is used to represent the loyalty and commitment each character has to his respective gang. They travel across the streets dancing as one unit with a shared purpose. The hatred and disrespect they have for their enemies is expressed through sharp movements and face-to-face confrontations throughout the dance number. As they dance, they get close to each other, then immediately retreat, revealing the social issue of racial segregation of that time. Robbins’ use of

The 1950s were an influential time for the Civil Rights Movement in America, and lots of change was being brought about in the country. In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. Then, in 1957, the Little Rock Nine became the first African-American students to integrate into a white high school, facing extreme harassment and abuse in the process. While this decade saw the first major victories for the Civil Rights Movement, it was still a time of prejudice, racism, and segregation, which shaped the subject content of West Side Story. Once again, this musical was breaking the rules of its time, focusing on the darker and uglier sides of human nature and society, and bringing light to social issues that were usually neglected in musical theatre. The love story between Tony and Maria in West Side Story was not merely present to add romance and young love to a dark narrative; it had an explicitly political and moral purpose. It revealed to the audience that in a time of prejudice and hatred, not even love could prevail. It unveiled the implications that segregation and racism had on the lives of the youth, on American society, and on human nature itself. It was the harsh truth, and audiences were left dumbfounded and shocked by the final scene