Westside
Story Review
Writing Assignment
• Please use your own paper.
• Assignment is due by the end of class
today.
• IF Westside Story did not end with a fade
to black followed by the words THE END,
but faded in on an additional scene, What
would that scene be?
• Describe the situation or scene.
• Write an example of dialogue between
characters.
• Would there be a song during this scene?
• What type or style of song would it be?
• What is the name of the song?
• What happens in this scene that helps
complete the story?
• Use your time wisely. This will be graded
for imagination as well as quality. (100 pts)
•Your
You’re
•There
Their
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1. In what city is 'West Side Story' set?
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Miami
• 2. What were the names of the two
main gangs?
• Blades and Tigers
• Emeralds and Diamonds
• Jets and Sharks
• Devils and Disciples
• 3. Who wrote the lyrics of this
musical?
• Anthony Newley
• Tim Rice
• Stephen Sondheim
• Sammy Cahn
Stephen Sondheim
• Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22,
1930) is an American composer and lyricist for
stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy
Award, multiple Tony Awards (eight, more than
any other composer) including the Special Tony
Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre,1
multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize.
Described by Frank Rich of the New York Times
as "the greatest, and perhaps best-known artist
working in musical theatre"
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4. Who played the part of Anita?
Natalie Wood
Rita Moreno
Shirley Maclaine
Liza Minnelli
Rita Moreno
• 5. In the song 'America' how many to a
room are mentioned in the lyric '
Industry boom in America, ________ in
a room in America'?
• 9
• 10
• 12
• 8
6. What was the name of the 'tomboy'
that always wanted to be part of Riff's
gang?
• Anybody's
• Nobody's
• Everybody's
• Somebody's
7. Which member of the Puerto Rican
gang killed Tony?
• Bernardo
• Chino
• Alfonso
• Dino
8. After the 'rumble' the gang assemble at
an underground car park. They are then
led into a song and dance routine to
'Cool'. What is the name of the 'cool
dude' who sings the song?
• Ice
• Frosty
• Chill
• Freeze
• 9. Tony feels that 'Something's Comin''
and he sings about it being 'Only just
out of reach, down the block, on a
beach, ___________'. What are the
missing three words?
• Over A Hill
• Under A Moon
• Under A Tree
• Over A Sea
• 10. Who was the composer of this
masterpiece?
• Leonard Bernstein
• Burt Bacharach
• Richard Rodgers
• Andrew Lloyd-Webber
Leonard Bernstein
• Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 –
October 14, 1990) was an American
conductor, composer, author and pianist.
He was among the first conductors born
and educated in the United States of
America to receive worldwide acclaim.
According to The New York Times, he was
“One of the most prodigiously talented and
successful musicians in American history."
• 1. What was the name of the Puerto
Rican gang?
• Jets
• Sharks
• Hawks
• Emeralds
• 2. Who was originally supposed to fight
Bernardo hand-to-hand?
• Action
• Riff
• Ice
• Tiger
• 3. What was the name of the host of
the dance at the gym?
• Krupke
• Doc
• Schrank
• Glad Hand
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4. Who told Maria of Bernardo's death?
Chino
her mother
Tony
No one, she saw it happen
Chino
• 5. What, according to Tony, is 'the most
beautiful sound I ever heard'?
• I Love You
• Violins
• Laughter
• Maria
• 7. What did Baby John paint on the wall
underneath the word 'SHARKS'?
• 'STINK'
• 'GO HOME'
• 'ARE COWARDS'
• A picture of a shark with a harpoon in it
Baby John
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8. Where did the big rumble take place?
Sweeney's Lot
under the highway
the river
the playground
• 10. For what item did Maria pretend to
send Anita to the store, to fool Lt.
Schrank?
• newspaper
• aspirin
• candy
• cough medicine
• 11. Why did Anita lie to the Jets and tell
them that Chino killed Maria?
• She always hated Maria
• The Jets assaulted her
• She was secretly in love with Tony
• Chino threatened to kill her if she didn't
• 13. What is Maria's father's pet name
for her?
• Maritza
• Queso
• Dolce
• Maruca
• 14. Who plays the headshrinker in the
musical number 'Officer Krupke'?
• Tony
• Baby John
• Action
• Riff
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1. Tony was of what ethnicity?
Swedish
Puerto Rican
Polish
German
• 3. 'West Side Story' was a modern day
production of what Shakespeare play?
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Romeo and Juliet
• Othello
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
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4. Bernardo was whose older brother?
Riff
Anita
Maria
Consuelo
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4. Who was Tony's best friend?
Tommy
Bernado
Riff
Snowboy
Riff
• Russell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn (born
December 30, 1934) is an American film
and television actor, who is arguably best
known for his performance in the 1961
movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the
leader of the Jets gang.
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8. Who sings 'A Boy Like That'?
Anita and Tony
Maria and Bernado
Maria and Anita
Tony and Maria
• 5. Riff and Bernardo's deaths are based
on the deaths of which original "Romeo
and Juliet" characters?
• Claudius and Polonius
• Tybalt and Mercutio
• Horatio and Hortensio
• Christopher Sly and Puck
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9. Who is Riff's girlfriend?
Graziella
Anita
Velma
Maria
• 1. Which character fills the part of Paris
("Romeo and Juliet") in "West Side
Story"?
• Bernardo
• Riff
• Tony
• Chino
• 4. Which character in "West Side Story"
fills the part of Mercutio from "Romeo
and Juliet"?
• Nobody
• Riff
• Action
• George
Who plays Maria?
• Marnie Nixon
• Natalie Wood
• Rita Moreno
Natalie Wood
• Natalie Wood (born Natalia Nikolaevna
Zakharenko (Russian) July 20, 1938 –
November 29, 1981) was an American
actress.
• Wood began acting in movies at the age of
four and became a successful child actor
in such films as Miracle on 34th Street
(1947).
In Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Natalie Wood
What song does Tony sing solo?
• Tonight
• Somewhere
• Something’s Coming
• Look at each song in West Side Story.
Discuss the manner in which each
contributed to the plot, mood, and
character development in the play. Were
any of the songs influenced by passages
or events in Romeo And Juliet?
• Can you think about another place in the
show where a song might have been
included?
• What would a title for this song be? What
would it be about? What kind of music
would it have?
• Dance is very effectively integrated in
West Side Story. How is dance used to
express emotion? Where is dance used
in situations where it would occur in
reality? Why is dance more powerful at
certain moments than words might be?
• At the very end of the show, as the two gangs
appear to be cooperating for the first time (to
carry Tony’s body), a peaceful-sounding high
chord alternates with a dissonant-sounding low
note. Yet this dissonance never resolves to a
satisfying-sounding bass note. By ending the
musical without resolving this low note, what
comment do you think Bernstein is making about
the future of the Jets and the Sharks?