West Side Story
By Siddiq Mohomed

Unlike countless Americans, I was never interested in Broadway musicals. It was not until recently, that I journeyed to Avenue Q. Interestingly enough there was relevant social commentary to be found amidst the crude hilarity onstage. I was surprised that the show, although not immediately obvious, was a serious work of art. Although I found that I enjoyed one musical, I was still skeptical of the art form itself. This was until I found the film adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The film version however, was co-directed by Robert Wise. West Side Story was also originally a book by Arthur Laurents and included screenplay by Ernest Lehman; with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. This musical however, fashioned many conflicting emotions; it was not only a compelling work of art, but a production that left me many more questions than answers. This was due to the complex use of racial stereotypes and even overt bigotry that propelled the work on screen. Subsequently, what became interesting was not only the methodology of the film adaptation and musical itself, but also the critical reception of West Side Story. How did these responses mirror or differ from my own? This was the question to be answered.

Understanding the background of the movie became the first priority. For learning the history it was imperative to understand the formation of the musical production that would eventually be adapted to film. John Bush Jones, in his book, Our Musicals, Ourselves: A Social History of the American Musical Theater, had discussed the origins of West Side Story. Jerome Robbins had originally set out to form a Romeo and Juliet musical that mirrored the modern times in the 1950’s. Robbins had originally intended for West Side Story to be based upon a religious feud that prevented a Jewish boy and a Catholic girl from being together. With that, the title would have been East Side Story (Jones, 191). As one might imagine, the initial idea of this being a religious feud would have created social arousal due to the fact that it was a form of communal division. Only here, the division would have been based upon separation by religion.  However, the idea for the musical was discarded and wasn’t brought back until 1954 (Jones, 191).

On the official West Side Story website, Jack Gottlieb’s “West Side Story Fact Sheet”, noted that in mid-1950, “the newspapers were filled with reports of street riots by Chicano Americans in Los Angeles. Those headlines turned the trick, triggering the imaginations of the collaborators” (Gottlieb, “Fact Sheet”). Furthermore, due to the rise in gangs as well as the rise in the Puerto Rican population within America, the collaborators now had a basis with which to attach to their Shakespearean remake. (Johnson, 192) However, a main cause for concern was the creator’s distance from their source material. Stephen Sondheim was quoted saying, “I’ve never been that poor and I’ve never even known a Puerto Rican” (192, qtd in Zadan 11-12). This fact, in particular, only intensified my split between fully loving the film version of West Side Story and questioning the film’s possible use of stereotyping.

Furthermore, as declared within the “West Side Story Fact Sheet”, the film version, which was made in 1961, made important alterations that allowed for a coherent plotline. This also led to its Academy Award. What I would find out is that songs such as “I Feel Pretty” were changed to work in the bridal shop. “Gee, Officer Krupke” was also interchanged, with the number, “Cool”. The changing of the song, “Cool” was done so because it made more sense to have the white immigrant based, Jets, keep their calm after the death of both Bernardo and Riff, which occurred during a climactic knife fight. Moreover, it was also important to keep a constant build up of tension and doom before that specific knife fight.(Gottlieb, Fact Sheet) Also important were the changes to Sondheim’s lyrics for “America”, which were now performed by the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks and their girlfriends (Gottlieb, “Fact Sheet”), as opposed to just the girlfriends in the original.

Having known that the film adaptation of West Side Story was recognized as a top film that received an abundance of Academy Awards, I went in with high expectations for both the plot direction, as well as the acting. At first however, I did not care too much for the lyrics or dancing during the exposition. Initially, upon viewing West Side Story, I accounted for the cast members.  Natalie Wood played Maria. Tony was played by Richard Beymer. Russ Tamblyn portrayed Riff; and Rita Moreno, Anita. George Chakiris played Bernardo and Simon Oakland was Lieutenant Schrank. Ned Glass played Doc and William Bramley was Officer Krupke. Tucker Smith played the character Ice and Tony Mordente played the character Action. Other characters were Elliot Field (who played Baby John), and Jose De Vega (who played Chino).

What I found as the plot progressed however, were highly choreographed scenes and dramatic lines that included racially motivated dialogue; and moreover even good intentioned but tragically flawed ideals. Accordingly, on the surface, my initial expectations for the movie weren’t let down by any degree based on musicality, choreography, acting or even singing. From the beginning what was illustrated was a highly choreographed fight between a “socially established” white American gang known as the Jets and a colored Puerto Rican-American gang known as the Sharks. Bernardo (leader of the Sharks) and Riff (leader of the Jets), in their fight for territory, established the overall racial tension that was inherent throughout the film. Noticeable within the first scene were the stylistic approaches to both the Sharks and the Jets, for they would both snap their fingers to establish a constant tempo within the music. Surprisingly, the dancing established was also magnificently choreographed with hints of flips and spins all over.

It was through the chaos, that Bernardo’s sister, Maria and Riff’s best friend, Tony, would meet and engage in many romantically charged scenes that paralleled Romeo and Juliet. It was through their meeting, as well as Maria’s incessant optimism, that the main conflict would arise. Tony, upon meeting Maria at a ballroom dance (which was considered neutral territory for both the Jets and Sharks), found that their love could not coexist in a realm of hatred and racial intolerance. This main conflict thus led to their hidden relationship and also the struggle to keep the relationship alive amidst the racial tension. Although their love was the main conflict, additional conflicts were in place. From the perspective of Riff and the Jets, their problem was elucidated through Riff’s overtly bigoted assertion where he stated that these “PRs keep coming like cockroaches” and “were moving in right under” their noses and taking away all that they had worked to preserve. From Bernardo’s perspective and as well as the Sharks, the issue was that they weren’t able to use any of the proclaimed, Jets territory, without facing intense racism or being pushed around.

Additionally, my initial observation of West Side Story was also able to bring about some unexpected and long forgotten memories from my elementary and middle school at PS 207 in Howard Beach, Queens. During the scene in the ballroom, which happened after the initial scuffle between the Jets and Sharks in the park, the camera started to focus on the separation between cultures. Due to the fact that Guyanese and mainly Caribbean-Americans in Richmond Hill were zoned for schooling in an Italian neighborhood, many moments of the bigotry established within the movie were also personally shared. At times, I would become the victim of many minor racial incidents. Furthermore, the camera was also able to show how each racially based gang, as well as their girlfriends, stayed to their own race and would only mix when forced to. For this, the dance scene alluded the underlying tension that was always present at my school, but rarely spoken about in the presence of adults. This was also paralleled in the movie on many occasions, where the Sharks and the Jets would pretend to be nice in the presence of authority and only further their hatred for each other after the authority would disappear. This was also brought to mind even more specifically during Riff and Bernardo’s “War Council” meeting. It was here that although Doc (a storekeeper and Tony’s friend) tried to reason with the Jets before their proposition to have a “rumble” (a gang brawl), the Jets and the Sharks would not allow for that. As the Jets pointed out, “Puerto Ricans make trouble for us.” Furthermore, when Lieutenant Schrank had entered Doc’s store, almost all-racial tension was quelled immediately. Here, the bigoted cop was able to only further Bernardo’s hatred for Americans and even talk down to the newly Americanized, Jets. Here, Schrank’s authority made it able for him to get away saying, “You Puerto Ricans get what you’ve been itching for…use of the playground…use of the gym, the streets, the candy store…so what if they do turn this whole town into a stinking pigsty?” By also talking down to the Jets by stating that their families were “immigrant scum”, this also showed the class distinction within America during that time period and not just the racial distinction. Moreover, surprisingly the meeting for a war council was something I experienced as well, but only the one I partook in was against my will, for I was trying to defend myself as a bunch of racially intolerant teens made their way through the park that was close to my school.  At that point in watching the film, I was disgusted with what I saw, but not because it was shocking violence or anything graphic, but because it reminded me of my early years.

Moreover, it was during their “War Council” that the main cause of the whole conflict was brought about. As Riff stated, Bernardo crossed the line when they had jumped Baby John (a member of the Jets) in the park. However, Bernardo’s rebuttal brought to light the reason for the underlying tension. As he stated, it was the Jets who attacked him on the first day he moved into the west side of Manhattan. The character, Action, then replied, “Who asked you to move here?” It was for that particular reason that Bernardo’s disillusionment with the American people had formed. Moreover, it was also the reasoning for his misplaced hatred towards Tony, who had attempted to engage in public displays of affection with his sister, Maria; and even later, accounted for Bernardo’s willingness to fight Tony even though Tony tried to reason logically with Bernardo. This was apparent in the rumble that took place in the movie where Maria’s once again incessant optimism thought that she and Tony could both stop the bad blood between the gangs. Unfortunately, when I viewed these scenes all I could think about was my personal role switch with Bernardo, for his feelings often paralleled mine. The only difference was that I did not act out in the same manner during my experience.

Furthermore, upon hearing the song, “America”, which was mostly performed by George Chakiris’ character, Bernardo and Rita Moreno’s character, Anita, what was paralleled were my own fears and conflictions about the role of immigrants in the United States for a long time. What Anita and her friends expounded upon within “America” were the opportunities and ideals that the United States were based upon. However, what were declared through Chakiris’ character were the actualized emotions of being an immigrant. As the back and forth occurred, Bernardo’s character often addressed the flaws within the stated ideals. “Lots of new housing with more space” was what Anita claimed. To juxtapose this, Bernardo stated, “Lots of doors slamming in our face”. Here, Bernardo, as well as the other Sharks, acknowledged that opportunity for jobs and even acceptance was scarce and that when push came to shove, he and his friends were easily excluded. Moreover, Anita proclaimed, “I’ll get a terrace apartment” only for Bernardo to soon reply, “Better get rid of your accent.” Like Bernardo, I feared for a long time that assimilation was a crucial element of life within America and even at times, had many conflicting emotions about how to act towards people in order to better fit in. Anita and her friend, Consuelo then gave a rebuttal once more, “here you are free and you have pride” only for the Sharks to reply, “Long as you stay on your own side.” Like Anita’s statement, I too wavered from the optimistic approach about civil liberties and actualized freedoms within America. Even though the characters portrayed within the movie were facing this dilemma as immigrants at that point in time, this was still, presently, an actualized issue as a brown skinned, American. Subsequently after Anita and Consuelo proclaimed, “Free to be anything you choose”, Bernardo and his gang replied, “Free to wait tables and shine shoes.” Here, upon listening to Bernardo’s last line, I had shuddered at the thought of having my life amount to nothing due to the fact that I was actually Guyanese-American. It was for this song that I not only fully understood the character Bernardo, but also his original intentions. Although I comprehended, I found that my optimism at times had mirrored Anita’s (and even Tony and Maria) more so than Bernardo even with all of my fears and bittersweet experiences.

Although it was quite easy to fall for the ideal that romance conquers all, and just simply look at West Side Story from the perspective of an avid movie or drama buff, I couldn’t help but witness the similarities between my fears about the social issues in New York seen from a colored, immigrant’s perspective. This almost made me hate the fact that I loved this movie. I had loved the acting and especially that of Rita Moreno whose dynamic approach to the character, Anita, made her situation very believable. This was no more apparent than in her scene where she attempts to help Tony even after her boyfriend’s death (Bernardo) at the hands of Tony. Her loss of optimism due to the manhandling she received by the Jets was something to behold. For such reason, Anita’s character development was something that I had found especially frustrating and amazing at the same time. Anita’s ending quote in the realization, “Bernardo was right! If one of you was lying in the street bleeding, I’d walk by and spit on you!” showed the dynamics of the character within the move. Before, although she thought she was fully assimilated, the Jets brought her back down to a racial minority. Although very thought provoking, this occurrence with Moreno’s character and the Jets was quite disturbing to watch. Nevertheless, it was not a matter that made me dislike the movie.

However, there were certain aspects of the movie that were not to be overlooked. One main issue I did have with the movie came in the form of stereotyping the Puerto Rican race. Chakiris’ brown-face makeup to play the character Bernardo was one very hard thing to overlook. Also, some of the lyrics and speech, although not immediately noticeable, hinted to a stereotyped speech pattern where Puerto Ricans would speak in broken-English. One example of this came through the lyrics by Sondheim, where Bernardo sings in a broken sentence, “I think I go back to San Juan.” Although not as overt, this was quite the stereotype used to categorize Puerto Ricans throughout the movie and I was lucky enough to pick up on it. It was due to this fact that I needed to inquire about the other critical responses made about this musical.

In comparison to my own thoughts on West Side Story, Alberto Sandoval Sanchez realized that West Side Story carried a hidden aspect to the musical film and as well as the musical production. In “West Side Story, A Puerto Rican Reading of America”, Sanchez proclaimed that his reasoning behind writing his article was due to the cheering of Anglo-Americans who only knew about Puerto Ricans from what they saw in theaters. (Sanchez, par 3). Moreover, he stated that not only were the lyrics to “America” distancing from the aualized emotions of Puerto Ricans and himself, but he found the number to have “an iconic ideological articulation of the stereotype and identity of Puerto Rican immigrants in the U.S.A” (Sanchez par 3).

For this reason, he had proposed an oppositional look to West Side Story in order to fully understand the thought process used in order to stereotype Puerto Ricans. As he further stated, “Jets/Sharks; U.S.A/ Puerto Rico; Center/Periphery, Empire/Colony; Native/Alien; Identity/ Alterity; Sameness/Difference” (Sanchez, Puerto Rican Reading) all added up to a set of differences that were attributed to represent Puerto Ricans as an unassimilated people. Moreover, in these word associations, Sanchez allowed for an understanding of such an issue of stereotyping to be actualized within the film. As Sanchez went on to state, the very constructs of the musical production came into question by looking at the methodology of the writers. In speaking about the groupings that were chosen by Laurents and his team, Sanchez stated,

It is interesting to observe how ethnic and racial minorities replaced each other. The writers moved comfortably from Jews and Italians to Chicanos to blacks to Puerto Ricans. They were just searching for a confrontation between people of color and Caucasian Anglo-Americans (Sanchez, “Puerto Rican Reading”)

Thus, in his opinion, the writers were looking for a way to concentrate on racial issues between minority groups in order to address actualized concerns of the white population against others. Although I do not fully buy this idea of just pitting full-on confrontation against minority groups for the sole purpose of making a great work of drama and addressing concerns during that time, it wasn’t a hard image to conceptualize.

Moreover, what Sanchez had found interesting were the physical appearances of both of the gangs. What he found appalling was the fact that most of the Puerto Ricans were given a tanned look and even looked rather thin and all had black hair as opposed to the healthy, white Jets that were portrayed in the movie. (Sanchez, “Puerto Rican Reading) Like my observation, I too had noticed that the construct of the Puerto Rican within West Side Story was one of concern. As I had noticed, many real life Puerto Ricans were not just tanned, but many had different shades of color and although Maria was actually in the movie not tanned, she was the only one who wasn’t. In Sanchez’s recount of the usage of stereotypes within West Side Story, he stated that Jossie de Guzman, in the 1980 production had to darken her skin in order to play Maria. Moreover, as he stated of Guzman within the Nan Robertson’s New York Times article, it read, “Oh, my God, I am Puerto Rican- why do they have to darken my hair? They darkened her pale skin too…” (Sanchez, qtd in “Maria and Anita”)

Delving deeper into the song, “America”, was also of concern for Sanchez. Sanchez stated that Sondheim had made quite a statement for himself when the original text for “America” was brought into question. Like my questions about Sondheim, Sanchez also argued about Sondheim’s lack of knowledge about Puerto Ricans. “Then, what are the Puerto Ricans in West Side Story? Are they simply literary products, ideological signs, and cultural discursive stereotypes of the Anglo-American sociopolitical system of power?” (Sanchez, “Puerto Rican Reading”) Within the original text of Sondheim’s, “America”, such was indeed of true question. As Sondheim wrote in the original lyrics, as stated by Sanchez about Puerto Rico,

Puerto Rico…you ugly island…Island of tropic diseases. Always the hurricanes blowing. Always the population growing…And the money owing. And the babies crying. And the bullets flying.  (“Sanchez, Puerto Rican Reading”)

This nevertheless was changed because of the negative portrayal upon witnessing the film lyrics. Like Sanchez, originally I thought that Anita’s assimilation had shown a darker portrayal of Puerto Rico and as Sanchez elucidated in his article, it was much worse than I could imagine, for his pure reaction to West Side Story was one that had him conclude that the whole play was made by usage of stereotypes. Although I had not thought about these issues as in depth since I was actually drawn to the plot and the production as a whole, this was now something to research.

After adjusting to the thoughts of Sanchez, the importance was now to find other critical responses. How did other articles describe West Side Story in either its musical production or film adaptation? Fortunately, I came across a film review by Albert Johnson that was dated in the summer of 1962. Johnson, in his article, “West Side Story” stated, “The entire film is beautifully visualized.” (Johnson, 58) His perception was both mixed with great regard for the movie, and sadly, even an underlying stereotypical connotation, which was unfortunate. As he stated, “In the role of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, George Chakiris brings out a certain haughty pride which is, interestingly enough, somewhat more intellectual than one might find in EspanHarlem” (Johnson, 59). What did Johnson mean when he said this? Moreover, why would he say something like this in a film review if not to undermine a racial minority in his review? Now Sanchez’ article made much more sense. It was dangerous to know of West Side Story as one’s only source of knowing Puerto Ricans. Once again, I was left conflicted. Should I adore the movie, or undermine its use of stereotypes?

Nonetheless, as Jones had reiterated about the critical reception of West Side Story in musical form, it did go on for 981 performances after an original run of 732 performances. (Jones, 192-93) In addition, as he proclaimed, “that kind of run was impressive for just about any musical at the time, and especially for one as risky and innovative as West Side Story.” (Jones, 193) As one could imagine, the musical, even with disconnected lyrics by Sondheim and even the implication of stereotyping by the creators, still managed to do well. However, it didn’t take a genius to notice that even without all the negativity, West Side Story was still a sight to behold, for it delved deeper than just usage of comedy and drama. It gave people something to think about (stereotyped or not). At the end of West Side Story, Tony was shot by Chino, and as Doc had declared earlier, “When do you kids stop? You make this world lousy!” At least the message of the creators was symbolic; for ignorance and hatred will only breed more of the same (which was quite ironic due to the creators’ usage of stereotypes at times).

West Side Story did have merit for both appreciation and discontent. Having looked at West Side Story from a Guyanese-American perspective, a Puerto Rican perspective, and even an Anglo-American perspective, what was found was a largely bittersweet experience that could have only been made possible by the creators. Although issued with minor flaws, it was safe to say that the bad found within the movie did not outweigh the good, but truly did make one contemplate whether the creators chose to be harsh with stereotyping to further explicate tensions found within the movie, or perhaps they were just placing stereotypes into their play. Regardless, with all of its innovations and drawbacks, West Side Story still deserved to be revisited; for its account of a modern day tragedy was still posed as a timeless work of art.

Works Cited
Gottlieb, Jack. “West Side Story Fact Sheet.” West Side Story . 2001.  4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.westsidestory.com/?site////.htm>

Johnson, Albert. “West Side Story.” Film Quarterly 15.4 (1962): 58-60. JSTOR. 2 Dec. 2008 <http://www.jstor.org//

Jones, John Bush. Our Musicals, Ourselves:A Social History of the American Musical Theater. Hanover: Brandeis University Press, 2003.
Robertson, Nan. “Maria and Nita in West Side Story.” The New York Times 22 Feb. 1980: C-4.
Sanchez, Alberto Sandoval. “A Puerto Rican Reading of the America of West Side Story.” Jump Cut 39 (June 1994): 59-66. Jump Cut:A Review of Contemporary Media. 1 Dec. 2008 <http://www.ejumpcut.org//nlinessays/folder/.html>.
West Side Story. Dir. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise.
DVD. MGM, 1961.
Zadan, Craig. Sondheim and Company. New York: Harper and Row, 1986

Bibliography

Gottlieb, Jack. “Did You Know That” West Side Story. 2001.  4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.westsidestory.com/?site/?level2/?archives/?fact/?did_you_know.html>.
- - -. “FAQ.” West Side Story. 2001.  4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.westsidestory.com/?archives_faq.php>.
- - -. “West Side Story Fact Sheet.” West Side Story . 2001.  4 Dec. 2008 <http://www.westsidestory.com/?site/?level2/?archives/?fact/?fact.html>.

Johnson, Albert. “West Side Story.” Film Quarterly 15.4 (1962): 58-60. JSTOR. 2 Dec. 2008 <http://www.jstor.org/?stable/?1211196>.

Jones, John Bush. Our Musicals, Ourselves:A Social History of the American Musical Theater. Hanover: Brandeis University Press, 2003.

Negron-Muntaner, Frances. “Feeling Pretty: West Side Story and Puerto Rican Identity Discourses.” Social Text 63 (2000): 83-106. JSTOR. 1 Dec. 2008 <http://www.jstor.org/?stable/?466779 >.

Sanchez, Alberto Sandoval. “A Puerto Rican Reading of the America of West Side Story.” Jump Cut 39 (June 1994): 59-66. Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. 1 Dec. 2008 <http://www.ejumpcut.org/?archive/?onlinessays/?JC39folder/?westSideStory.html>.

Wells, Elizabeth. “West Side Story and the Hispanic.” Echo 2.1 (2000): 1-5. Echo . 1 Dec. 2008 <http://www.echo.ucla.edu/?volume2-Issue1/?wells/?wells-article-part1.html>.

West Side Story. Dir. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise.
DVD. MGM, 1961.