Place for Us: Fifty Years of West Side Story, A

Synopsis
Radio documentary hosted by Scott Simon, on the show West Side Story. Members of the original creative team and cast discuss the show’s birth, members of the movie cast discuss the show’s translation from stage to screen and critics and artists talk about the impact of the show and its score on popular culture. Interviewees include lyricist Stephen Sondheim, bookwriter Arthur Laurents, original cast members Carol Lawrence and Chita Rivera, producer Harold Prince, movie cast members Rita Moreno and Marni Nixon, New York Times columnist Frank Rich, jazz artist Bill Charlap, among others. Composer Leonard Bernstein, director/choreographer Jerome Robbins and original cast member Larry Kert are heard in archival audio. The documentary also includes classical, jazz and pop interpretations of the score. The programme features selections from foreign productions of West Side Story, a recent high school production at a yeshiva in the Bronx, and a production performed by inmates at Sing-Sing prison.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Radio
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
26 Sep 2007 at 20:00 (Channel: NPR)
Duration
59 mins

Credits

Director
Jeff Lunden
Producer
Margaret Low Smith
Writer
Jeff Lunden
Contributor
Arthur Laurents; Bill Charlap; Carol Lawrence; Chita Rivera; Frank Rich; Harold Prince; Marni Nixon; Rita Moreno; Simon Scott (2); Stephen Sondheim

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Plays
Romeo and Juliet
Subjects
Drama; Music
Keywords
musicals; prisoners; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
Audio slideshow from the programme available at www.npr.org (accessed 3/2009).

Archive

Name

Peabody Awards Collection Archives

Phone
706 542 7360
Fax
706 542 4144
Address
Media Department
University of Georgia Libraries
Athens
GA 30602

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Place for Us: Fifty Years of West Side Story, A". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av72008 (Accessed 13 Nov 2024)