"The trouble is he's lazy.
The trouble is he drinks.
The trouble is he's crazy,
The trouble is he stinks.
The trouble is he's growing,
The trouble is he's grown."

The forces of four Broadway legends, Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics); Leonard Bernstein (Music); Arthur Laurents (Book) and Jerome Robbins (Director and Choreographer), came together in the mid -1950s to create this work. West Side Story opened at the Winter Garden Theater on September 26, 1957, where it ran for 734 performances. After it closed on June 27, 1959, it toured the nation with its original cast. It re-opened at the Winter Garden Theater on April 27, 1960 and ran for 240 more performances , before finally closing on December 10, 1960. The show has seen several revivals, and every major stock company in the United States has presented it on multiple occasions. West Side Story has been produced around the world. Although it has become a landmark musical the show earned only two Tony awards, (Jerome Robbins-Choreography, Best Scenic Designer-Oliver Smith.)

In 1962, Mirisch Pictures , Inc. released the film version , which won 10 Academy Awards. It was the first film adaptation of a Broadway musical to win the Academy Award for Best Film of the Year.

Sondheim: " Well you know, he's standing outside her house, and, you know, he senses that she's going to appear on the balcony."
Robbins: "Yeah, but what is he doing?"
Sondheim: "Oh, he's standing there and singing a song"
Robbins:( getting testy) "What is he doing?"
Sondheim: " Well, he sings, Maria, Maria, I just met a girl named Maria, and suddenly that name will never be the same to me."
Robbins: "And then what happens?"
Sondheim: "And then he sings..."
Robbins: "You mean he stands looking at the audience?"
Sondheim: "Well yes."
Robbins: "You stage it."
-Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins

Synopsis
Song-Cast list
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