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The concept of West Side Story began in the late 1940s with Jerome Robbins wanting to place the story of Romeo and Juliet into present day; mainly focusing on the theme of “star-crossed lovers.” He met with Berstein and together they developed the concept further into the form of a musical and the unique storyline that we know today of West Side Story. There first development of the musical came to a halt as there initial themes were too basic and had already been done before. As they noticed the prevalence of gang violence in America their creative team soon started workshopping how to integrate the classic story of Romeo and Juliet into this modern/current issue.
Once they had developed a new storyline and characters for the musical they then hired Stephen Sondheim to create lyrics that captured, “the emotion and poetry of the contemporary youth.” A large obstacle that Berstein and the creative team faced was translating the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet into the setting of a musical that is mainly built upon more uplifting and joyous endings.
At a young age Berstein had a lot of labour related jobs, such as fish cleaner, distributing beauty products and floor sweeper in a Barber. Since Berstein quickly understood the world of business and success before discovering music and the realm of performing arts this greatly influences the creation of his West Side Story. Berstein’s work ethic and understanding of the “real world” can be clearly demonstrated in the raw and realistic music that mirror these real and unique characters + setting. Also Leonard’s successful musical life took him on several international tours during the 1950s. In 1952, he founded the Creative Arts Festival at Brandeis University; also finding his love for teaching. Through touring during his lifetime Berstein was able to chanel the many experiences and growth that came with it into his own personal style and musical composition. This overall influenced his musical compositions for West Side Story as it aided in developing a more authentic and creative musical style and eye during composing.
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