West Side Story takes stage

Fans already know "Something's Coming" that's going to be "Cool" when West Side Story takes the stage "Tonight."

The show will be performed at 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow in Eisenhower Auditorium. Tickets for tomorrow's performance are nearly sold out, but good seats are still available for tonight, said Robin Conklin, assistant marketing coordinator for the Center for the Performing Arts.

"This is one of our hottest sellers this year," Conklin said, adding that CPA expected sales for this show to be particularly high. The fact that West Side Story is such a popular show would draw students, she said.

West Side Story first hit Broadway in 1957, after the original plot was conceived by Jerome Robbins. Later the book was written by Arthur Laurents, and music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, respectively. With choreography done by Robbins, West Side Story has become one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time.

At the time of West Side Story's debut, the musical was recognized as a brilliant work, with beautiful music and lyrics and powerful choreography. Although audiences acclaimed the show as a masterpiece, they were horrified by its brutal and violent conclusion.

"It's a timeless classic," Conklin said. "The plot is still very relevant today with the gangs of today versus those of older times."

With a plot paralleling Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the show transports audience members to New York City's west side in a time when street gangs were a dominant part of everyday life and immigrants were unwelcome by Americans.

The two rival gangs introduced are the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Tony, the main character, belongs to the Jets, and his best friend Riff leads the group. The Sharks are run by Bernardo, the brother of Maria, the female romantic lead.

Tony and Maria meet, falling in love at first sight. The two lovers ignore the social restrictions they are living under, not realizing that, much like Romeo and Juliet, they are ill-fated lovers.

Popular songs such as "Cool," "I Feel Pretty" and "Maria," take the audience through Tony and Maria's love affair right up until the play's tragic ending.

"This show is still very popular for two reasons," said Cary Libkin, head of the music theater department. "The music is still very popular and knowable, and the idea of 'can love survive in a society full of hate?' is always of interest," he said.