Look out! Gang warfare comes to a stage near you, as the Jets and Sharks fight it out with each other, in Leonard Bernstein’s classic musical, ‘West Side Story’. The action takes place in 1950s New York, at a time when gang  warfare was becoming a serious social problem. Tony and Maria come from different ethnic backgrounds. They meet and fall in love, but then have to deal with the prejudices and hatred which poison their friends, families, and neighbourhood.

In 1947, the choreographer, Jerome Robbins, had the idea of writing a   musical based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. The conflict would be between two families, one Irish–Catholic, and the other Jewish, in 1950s east Manhattan. It was to be called East Side Story. Ten years later, after several re-writes and changes of collaborators, it made it to the stage in the form in which we know it today.

‘West Side Story’ was seen as a turning point in American musical theatre, because it dealt with serious social problems, and was an equal blend of music, dance and plot, demanding a great deal of it’s performers. The music was seen as difficult, if not impossible to sing, and the first review described the dance routines as “savage, restless and electrifying”. In the first production, the actors playing both gangs were kept apart, so that they would not become friendly, and the script writers invented their own ‘street language’, to avoid using swear words.

CBW Youth Theatre have become well known for their exciting, professional and mature performances, and this promises to be no exception. With the thrilling dance rhythms of Latin America, and songs such as ‘I like to be in America’, ‘Somewhere’, and ‘Maria’, prepare to enjoy CBW Youth Theatre’s latest production.