WEST SIDE STORY
Birth of a Classic

Poster from the revival of West Side Story

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alt text goes here Leonard Bernstein outside the National Theatre in Washington, DC Production Photograph: “A Boy Like That” Production Photograph: “Somewhere Ballet” Outside the Winter Garden Theatre after the Broadway Opening

Related Library Collections Online

The Leonard Bernstein Collection

Read More About It

Burton, Humphrey. Bernstein. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

Conrad, Christine.  Jerome Robbins: That Broadway Man, That Ballet Man.  London: Booth-Clibborn Editions, 2000.

Garebian, Keith. The Making of West Side Story. Oakville, Ontario: Mosaic Press, 1998.

Greg, Lawrence.  Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins. New York: Putnam, 2001.

Hirsch, Foster.  Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre.  Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Horowitz, Mark.  Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions.  Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press in association with Library of Congress, 2003.

Ilson, Carol.  Harold Prince: A Director’s Journey. New York: Limelight Editions, 2000.

Jowitt, Deborah.  Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.

Laurents, Arthur. Original Story By: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood. New York:  Knopf, 2000.

Laurents, Arthur, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen, Sondheim, et.al. West Side Story: A Musical.  New York, Random House [c. 1958].

Miller, Scott.  From Assassins to West Side Story: The Director’s Guide to Musical Theatre. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1996.

Mordden, Ethan.  Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

The Music Theatre International Study Guide for West Side Story. New York: Music Theatre International, 1993.

Prince, Harold.  Contradictions: Notes on Twenty-Six Years in the Theatre. New York: Dodd, Mead,1974.

Schlundt, Christena L. Dance in the Musical Theatre: Jerome Robbins and his Peers, 1934–1965: A Guide. New York: Garland Pub., 1989.

Secrest, Meryle.  Leonard Bernstein: A Life. New York: Knopf, 1994.

———Stephen Sondheim: A Life. New York: Knopf, 1998.

Vail, Amanda.  Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins. New York: Broadway Books, 2006.

Williams, Mary E. Readings on West Side Story. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001.

Zadan, Craig. Sondheim & Co. 2nd ed.. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.

Available on CD

Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story. With Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras, and Tatiana Troyanos. Polygram, 1990

Bernstein, Leonard, Stephen Sondhiem, Arthur Laurents, et al. West Side Story (Film soundtrack, 1961). With Marni Nixon and Rita Moreno. New York: Sony, 1992.

Bernstein, Leonard, Stephen Sondhiem, Arthur Laurents, et. al. West Side Story (Original Broadway cast recording, 1957). With Carol Lawrence, Larry Kert, and Chita Rivera.   New York: Sony, 1998.

Available on DVD

The Making of West Side Story: Leonard Bernstein. With Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras, and Tatiana Troyanos. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 2005 (Originally Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side Story, 2002).

Bernstein, Leonard, Stephen Sondhiem, Arthur Laurents, et al. West Side Story (Special Edition DVD Collector’s Set). Directed by Jerome Robinson and Robert Wise(1961). Los Angeles: MGM, 2003.

The Best of Broadway Musicals: Original Cast Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show. Hollywood: SOFA, 2003.

Broadway: The American Musical. PBS/Paramount, 2004.

Carol Lawrence: Bell Telephone Hour Appearances 1960–1967. Pleasantville, New York: Video Artists International, 2005.

Other Online Resources

The Official Leonard Bernstein Site

The Official West Side Story Site

NPR: 50 Years of West Side Story

Internet Broadway Database for All Productions

The Guide: West Side Story: A Theatergoer’s Resource Prepared for Portland Center Stage (PDF/1.39Mb)

The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide


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