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ABOUT THE SHOW	SYNOPSIS	HISTORY	MUSICAL NUMBERS	GALLERY
CREDITS	CAST	ORCHESTRA	CREW	PRODUCTION TEAM
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	LINKS

SYNOPSIS

The story begins with a danced Prologue indicating the bitter tensions between the Jets, a self-styled "American" street gang, and the Sharks, a group of young Puerto Ricans. The leader of the Jets, Riff swears to drive the Sharks, led by Bernardo, from the streets (Jet Song). Riff determines to challenge Bernardo that night at a dance in the gym, and prevails upon his old friend and the co-founder of the Jets, Tony, to help him. Tony has been growing away from the gang, and feels the stirrings of other emotions (Something's Coming) but agrees.

Bernardo's sister Maria, newly arrived from Puerto Rico to marry his friend Chino, attends the dance (The Dance at the Gym) and despite the obvious hatred between the gangs meets Tony, who at once falls in love with her (Maria). Later, after the dance, while the gangs begin to assemble at Doc's drugstore to choose a place and weapons for their rumble - a gang fight - Tony visits Maria on the fire escape of her apartment, and they pledge their love (Tonight), promising to meet the next afternoon at the bridal shop where Maria works.

As he departs, the Sharks take their girls home and go off to the drugstore, while a playful argument develops between Anita and two homesick Puerto Rican girls over the relative merits of life back home and in Manhattan (America).

At the drugstore, the Jets are nervous about the approaching meeting with the Sharks, but Riff advises them to play it cool (Cool), and when the Sharks arrive, an agreement is reached, at Tony's insistence, to have a fair, bare-handed fight between the two best fighters in each gang the next night, under the highway. Next day, Tony visits Maria at the shop and among the clothing dummies they enact a touching wedding ceremony (One Hand, One Heart). Maria makes him promise to stop the fight between his gang and her brother's. In the quintet Tonight, Tony and Maria sing of their love, Anita makes plans for a big evening, and Bernardo and Riff and their gangs make their own plans for the rumble.

In a deserted area under the highway, the gangs meet for the fight. As it is about to get under way, Tony hurries in, and begs them to stop, as he has promised Maria. Bernardo, enraged that Tony has been making advances to his sister, pushes him back furiously. Suddenly switchblade knives appear, and Riff and Bernardo begin to fight (The Rumble). In the ensuing action, Riff is knifed, and Tony, grabbing his weapon, in turn knifes Bernardo. Frenzied, the gangs join battle, until they are interrupted by a police whistle. They flee, leaving behind the bodies of Riff and Bernardo.

In her room, Maria is gaily preparing for her meeting with Tony (I Feel Pretty). She is unaware of what has happened, until Chino bursts into her room and tells her that her brother has been killed by her lover. Seizing a gun, he rushes out in search of Tony. Tony, however, has climbed the fire escape to Maria's room, and in spite of her grief she is unable to send him away. Clinging together desperately they envision a place where they can be free from prejudice (Somewhere). In the streets and alleys the gangs flee the police, panic-stricken by the killings. Two of the Jets, Action and Snowboy, have already been questioned, and they explain to the rest of them how to handle the adults (Gee, Officer Krupke!).

The sorrowing Anita knocks at Maria's door, and Tony leaves by the window, taking refuge in the basement of Doc's drugstore. Anita upbraids Maria for allowing Tony to come near her (A Boy Like That), but Maria's answer (I Have a Love) carries its irrefutable force, and at length Anita agrees to go warn Tony that Chino is gunning for him. She goes to the drugstore, but is brutally taunted by the Jets for her nationality, and finally in hysteria spits out a different message for Tony: that Chino has killed Maria in revenge.

Doc tells Tony what Anita has said, and Tony leaves his hiding place, wandering numbly on the streets. At midnight, he runs into Maria, who has been searching for him, but their moment is brief: Chino appears from behind a building and shoots Tony dead. The stunned gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, appear from the shadows and, drawn together by the tragedy, lift up the body of Tony and carry it off.

Written by George Dale
Transcribed by Sally Chou

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HISTORY

The narrative of WEST SIDE STORY is not new to most audiences, certainly not those who are familiar with Romeo and Juliet. Jerome Robbins' initial idea of modernising Shakespeare's classic took almost nine years to materialise. After a six-year postponement and complete reworking of the original idea (which initially centred around the Jewish-Catholic conflict on the East Side), WEST SIDE STORY finally opened in New York City in 1957. Leonard Bernstein did not want any of the era's stars to sing his leads. Instead, forty untrained, young singers were cast, bringing a natural quality to what became one of the best-loved musicals of our time. Due to a combination of Bernstein's classical style and Arthur Laurents' Broadway vision, WEST SIDE STORY is unique in the challenges it presents.

Due to a combination of Bernstein's classical style and Laurents' Broadway vision, WEST SIDE STORY is unique in the challenges it presents. As Bernstein wrote in his diary:

"New York, March 17, 1956. Chief problem: to tread the fine line between opera and Broadway; between realism and poetry, ballet and 'just dancing', abstract and representational. Avoid being 'messagy'. The line is there, but it's very fine, and sometimes takes a lot of peering around to discern it."

The fact that WEST SIDE STORY remains fresh 50 years later is due to its extensive artistic flexibility. While it cannot be taken out of 1950's America due to the political and social atmosphere of the time - the essential element of the piece - the music lends itself to a huge variety of dancing styles, and scenes like the 'Nightmare Sequence' allow for endless theatrical possibility.

The Prologue sets up the show's overall ambience - sombre, jazzy, street-smart and essentially cool - all within the first twelve bars. The opening chords and lone saxophone line epitomise the music of The Jets with its laid-back swing feel and carefree attitude. By contrast, fiery Latin cross-rhythms and Be-bop melodic lines introduce the archrivals - The Sharks.

Although there is a distinction between 'leads' and 'chorus' in WEST SIDE STORY, the show's main theme is the futility of social division, and what is important is the interaction and relationship between the different groups. Therefore, the show requires a high level of participation from all cast members, each of whom plays an individual. The Jets, for example, need to understand the specific dynamics within the gang as well as their particular significance in regards to the overall narrative. Similarly, The Sharks must appreciate the social and political problems faced by first-generation immigrants in America at this time. It is this that gives meaning to the show; it is the reason why the story is still believable and relevant today.

It has been a real pleasure working on the show even if it hasn't always been 'fun'. We are enormously grateful for the support and kindness of a great many people.

Nina Alexandersen - Director
Greg Mickelborough - Musical Director

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MUSICAL NUMBERS

Act I

Prologue: The months before

5:00pm	The Street	Jet Song	Jet Song Riff and The Jets
5:30pm	A Back Yard	Something's Coming	Tony
6:00pm	A Bridal Shop
10:00pm	The Gym	Dance at the Gym	Instrumental
		Maria	Tony
11:00pm	A Back Alley	Balcony Scene	Maria and Tony
		America	Anita, Rosalia and The Shark Girls
Midnight	The Drugstore	Cool	Riff and The Jets

The Next Day

5:30pm	The Bridal Shop	One Hand, One Heart	Maria and Tony
6:00pm	The Neighbourhood	Tonight	Maria, Tony, Anita, Riff, Bernardo, The Jets and The Sharks
9:00pm	Under the Highway	The Rumble	Instrumental

Act II

9:15pm	A Bedroom	I Feel Pretty	Maria, Francisca, Rosalia and Consuela
		Somewhere (Dream Ballet)	A Girl
		Nightmare Sequence	Company
10:00pm	An Attic? An Alley?	Gee, Officer Krupke	The Jets
11:30pm	A Bedroom	A Boy Like That	Maria and Anita
		I Have a Love	Maria and Anita
11:40pm	The Drugstore
11:50pm	The Cellar
Midnight	The Neighbourhood	The Rumble	Instrumental

The Jets	The Jets Girls
Tony    Richard Carroll Riff    Rob Dawson Baby John    James Pearson A-Rab    Peter Lyons Diesel    David Virgo Action    Jeremy Goddard Big Deal    Robert Atkinson Snowboy    Philip Chambers Anybodys    Deborah McCracken	Velma    Isabella Calthorpe Graziella    Emily Radcliffe Minnie    Diane Smith Clarice    Natalie Newton Candy    Tilda Samuelson

The Sharks	The Sharks Girls
Bernado    Tom Scott Chino    Tony Sehgal Pepe    Ed Bartlam Indio    Graeme Davies Luis    Chris Wilson Anxious    David Orr Nibbles    Ross Dyke	Anita    Nicola Hindson Maria    Francesca Dymond Rosalia    Catriona Sandison Consuela    Miriam Turner Francisca    Bethan James Estelle    Eva Dominguez Margaritta    Louise Kenney

Other Characters

Doc	Nathaniel Slade
Shrank	Simon Yadoo
Officer Krupke	Chris Sceats
Glad Hand	Richard Shelton
A Girl	Jessica Bryant

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CREW

PRODUCTION TEAM

Nina Alexandersen - Director
This is Nina's third year at the University of Edinburgh. She began performing during her conquest of Bangkok, from where she was exiled in 1990. She then moved to the International School of Brussels, where she performed in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Arsenic and Old Lace and The King and I among others. Direction credits included David and Lisa, and something about a tree that held up the sky - which never made sense to her, not to mention the audience. Here in Edinburgh she has directed Steel Magnolias with the EUTC, Lakme with the Edinburgh Studio Opera, and the radio play The Angels They Grow Lonely. She has remained heavily involved in acting and recently played Bette in The Marriage of Bette and Boo.

Greg Mickelborough - Musical Director
Greg is doing WEST SIDE STORY for the third time. Many years ago with a stage itch, he played the role of 'Action' from the Jet Gang and in 1995 musically directed a production for Birkdale School in Sheffield. He took over as Musical Director for Footlights in 1996 for their production of Bugsy Malone and has gone on to musically direct several productions with various companies over the last few' years, culminating in a production of Lakme last year with Edinburgh Studio Opera. Theatrical / Music sidelines include sound and light tech for anything that seems "good for a laugh", composing music for plays and arranging music for the Edinburgh-based band Obaben. Greg would also like to take this opportunity, being a final year Music student, to wish his degree good luck.

Katy Ramskill - Producer
Katy's interest in producing began when she started at Edinburgh University in 1997. Edinburgh productions include The School for Scandel (Cafe Graffiti, 1998), Steel Magnolias (EUTC, 1998) and The King's New Clothes (Edinburgh Fringe, 1998). Last year, while studying in Seattle, she worked on various projects at the University of Washington including the operas Hansel and Gretel and Street Scene and a Seattle 5th Avenue Broadway production of Guys and Dolls. Katy has definite plans for future productions, but it is undoubtedly a high-flying career in travel that beckons!

Richard Lace - Producer
Upon leaving his last job as a minor deity for a small community in the South Pacific, Richard was cursed by the islanders with the inability to say 'no'. Since then, he has found himself involved in lighting and producing shows for Eastbourne Youth Theatre and EUTC, amongst others, as well as helping write a new musical. A brief foray into Footlights as a member of the Some Like It Hot band led him to the AGM and the role of treasurer. Further stupidity resulted in taking on the roles of producer and sound designer this year, which has been a job made possible only through the hard work and dedication of the entire team. Future plans may involve some, or fewer, from travel, theatre, live sound and alcohol. An expedition into the world of directing cannot be ruled out, but for now, a New Year's resolution to sleep more must take priority.

Diane Smith - Choreographer
Di's been on the telly! Off screen you can find her grooving with the likes of Janet Jackson...well, sort of. Having spent the last 13 years performing, it's no wonder she has been able to choreograph Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, Calamity Jane, and The Boyfriend. She still sticks to her roots though, having been involved with the Aberdeen International Youth Festival for the past eight years starting as a dancer and working her way up to assistant director/producer. Last year Di choreographed EU Savoy's Orpheus in the Underworld as well as dancing and assistant choreographing for Footlights' Some Like it Hot.

Vidhi Misra - Choreographer
Vidhi's been dancing in some way or at someplace since she was just out of nappies. Ballet, jazz, modern, tap or just jumping up and down in front of a speaker. As a third year medical student she divides her time (un)equally between wards and rehearsals while managing to squeeze in an irrationally large devotion to Michael Owen and his brethren of gods who dwell at Fortress Anfield. She used to run the Modern Dance Society and joined Footlights this year, unable to resist working on such an amazing show as WEST SIDE STORY.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This show could not have gone ahead without the help and support of a huge number of people. We would like to thank the following:
Anne Elder and all at the Pleasance	The Warehouse
George Smart and the Churchill staff	Jules Bigley
Peter Kirk and staff at Bottoms Up	Ellie Buckingham
Trish & Edinburgh Community Halls	Chris Channey
Donna & Paul at SMART	Fiona Donaldson
Phil Mulligan at the Reid	Helen Downie
George at Alison House	Owen Dudley-Edwards
The Bedlam Company and committee	Ros Elcombe & Alex Hamilton
12 Angry Men	Jim Lowe
Thirteen Clocks	Erica Parrish
Grease	Jane Rimer
EU Savoy Opera Group	James Ross
Jock at Black Light

The Edinburgh University Footlights gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the University of Edinburgh Development Trust

Extra special thanks to Sue and all at FLIP for their generosity.

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LINKS