Big Band, Broadway and Beyond Features WEST SIDE STORY on Friday June 1

This week on Big Band, Broadway, and Beyond, Joe will be featuring the Broadway musical WEST SIDE STORY. This classic musical retelling of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET is set in the mid-1950s Upper West Side section of New York City. The rival "families" being two rival teenage gangs representing the ethnically changing neighborhood: The Jets representing the white working class teens community and The Sharks representing the Puerto Rican community. The two lovers are from these rival groups, Tony one of the Jets falls in love with Maria the sister of The Shark's leader Bernardo. This musical features music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins all based on Arthur Laurents' book. WEST SIDE STORY was first performed on Broadway in 1957 and turned into a film directed by Robert Wise in 1961 (it won Best Picture at the Oscars). So listen to Big Band, Broadway, and Beyond to hear a different featured Broadway musical every Friday between 10am-1pm.