West Side Story

Laura Rowley

Rita Moreno, Hollywood Legend, On The Power Of Persevering

HuffingtonPost.com | Laura Rowley | Posted 03.08.2012

Read More: Life Without Makeup, Alan Alda, West Side Story, Happily Divorced, Fran Drescher, Marlon Brando, Rita Moreno, Racism in Hollywood, Huff/Post50 News

When I met Rita Moreno in her suite at the Waldorf Towers in New York, I immediately noticed three things: She looks at least 20 years younger than he...

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DVDs: "West Side Story" (Almost) Perfect In New BluRay Set

Michael Giltz | Posted 01.17.2012

Read More: West Side Story, Dvds, Musicals, Movies, Entertainment News
Michael Giltz

WEST SIDE STORY 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION BLURAY ($69.99 BuRay Deluxe or $29.99 BluRay; MGM) -- West Side Story buzzes with contradictions in this la...

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WATCH: 'West Side Story' Flashmob Hits Times Square

Posted 01.12.2012

Read More: West Side Story Flashmob, West Side Story, Flashmob, West Side Story DVD, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Jerome Robbins, West Side Story Anniversary, Flash Mob, Gay Voices News

The film version of "West Side Story" may be half a century old, but its ardent fans are clearly still a force to be reckoned with. A flashmob inv...

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50 Years Later Rita Moreno Keeps On Dancing

AP | By SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Dancing, West Side Story, Heritage, The Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 50th Anniversary, Hispanic, Latino Artists, Rita Moreno, Hollywood, Latino Voices News

NEW YORK -- As Rita Moreno nears her 80th birthday, she's singing and dancing six nights a week in the biographical show "Life Without Makeup." Moren...

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Movie Review: Footloose Remake - Why?

Marshall Fine | Posted 12.11.2011

Read More: Movie Review, Urban Cowboy, Black Snake Moan, Chicago, David LaChappelle, Achy Breaky Heart, Jerome Robbins, Craig Brewer, Marshall Fine Movie Review, Julianne Hough, Movies, Abbie Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Marshall Fine, West Side Story, Grease, Footloose, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Hustle & Flow, Footloose Movie Review, Jamal Sims, Dennis Quaid, Rize, Entertainment News
Marshall Fine

Geez, Footloose sucked when it was a Kevin Bacon movie in 1984. Who thought remaking it, almost scene for scene and song for song, would improve it?

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First Nighter: Betty Buckley Goes for Men in a Big-Hearted Feinstein's at Loews Regency Way

David Finkle | Posted 12.06.2011

Read More: Kenny Werner, "West Side Story, Michael Rupert, Frank Loesser, " Willliam Finn, Ginger Rogers, " "Guys and Dolls, Russ Tamblyn, Christian Jacob, "Ah Men! The Boys of Broadway, " Fred Astaire, " Stephen Sondheim, " "Sweeney Todd, "Swingtime, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, " "Elegies, Betty Buckley, Entertainment News
David Finkle

As one of Broadway's absolute best singing actors, Buckley is used to having previews to work out what she's doing before tough-minded commentators descend. Unfortunately, that's not the cabaret case.

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Rita Moreno Stars in a World Premiere of Her Own Life Story

Erika Milvy | Posted 11.11.2011

Read More: Theater, West Side Story, Berkeley Rep, Musical Theater, Rita Moreno, Rita-Moreno, Latinos, Puerto Rico, Latin America, Racism, Hollywood, Jerome Robbins, Arts News
Erika Milvy

Rita Moreno is having a Betty White year. She is back on TV, back on the stage and although she might not be as ubiquitous as Betty White (she has yet to have a calender made about her) she certainly has better gams.

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Gatsby, Winter Carnival, and Me

Lonna Saunders | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lewis Carroll, 9/11, Coeducation, Carnival of the Century, West Side Story, Hanover Inn, Skis, Carnival Ball, Connecticut College, Won K. Chung, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Wizard of Oz, Jay Gatsby, Gina Barreca, 1902 Room, Jabberwocky, Through the Looking Glass, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ski, Dartmouth College, Walter Wanger, Collis Commonground, Winter Carnival, Top of the Hop, Hollywood Prayer Network, President Jim Yong Kim, Skiing, Ann Sheridan, Where the Wild Things Are, Ski Jumping, Break a Leg, The Greatest Show on Earth, President Kim, Carnival Queen, Baker Library, Twin Towers, Dr. Seuss, Dartmouth, Through a Frosted Looking Glass, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Nick Carraway, Tampax, Avon, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Princeton, September 11th, Leagues Under the Sea, University of Connecticut, Chicago News
Lonna Saunders

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, narrator Nick Carraway remarks, "You can't repeat the past." To which Jay Gatsby replied, "You can't repeat the past? Why of course, you can."

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HuffPost Interview: Director Kelly Asbury of Gnomeo and Juliet

Marshall Fine | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Lion King, The Graduate, Computer Animation, Kelly Asbury Interview, Shrek, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Wizard of Oz, Marshall Fine Interview, Kelly Asbury, West Side Story, Marshall Fine, Black Forest, Mamma Mia, Gnomeo and Juliet, The Bitch Is Back, Elton John, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, Entertainment News
Marshall Fine

Why gnomes? Why not gnomes?, says Kelly Asbury? The result is a computer-animated comedy aimed at children and adults, using Shakespeare's romantic tragedy as the jumping-off point for a more family-friendly fairy tale.

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HuffPost Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

Marshall Fine | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Movie Reviews, Michael Caine, West Side Story, Marshall Fine, James McAvoy, Romeo and Juliet, Gnomeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, Emily Blunt, Gnomeo and Juliet Movie Review, Marshall Fine Movie Reviews, Jason Statham, Movies, William Shakespeare, Entertainment News
Marshall Fine

Gnomeo and Juliet is exactly the kind of movie you wish for when you're the parent of small children. It's fast, funny and smart enough to tickle the ...

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Sondheim's Lyrics: Rhymes, Reasons and Religion

Michael Sigman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, Stevie Wonder, Lorenz Hart, Lyrics, Irving Berlin, Noel Coward, Alan Jay Lerner, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Carl Sigman, Great American Songbook, Saturday Night, Sunday in the Park With George, Company, West Side Story, Follies, Arts News
Michael Sigman

Though I grew up in an agnostic household, I was rarely in doubt that a spiritual force was afoot. Music, specifically what's come to be called "The Great American Songbook," was our religion.

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WATCH: Stephen Sondheim: West Side Story Is 'Embarrassing'

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Video, A Little Night Music, Musicals, Stephen Sondheim Broadway, Stephen Sondheim Musical, Broadway, Stephen Sondheim, Home News

Stephen Sondheim ain't a Jet or a Shark. In fact, he's not too crazy about his landmark musical, 'West Side Story,' at all. The famed composer/lyrici...

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This Is Your Brain on Crosswords

Michael Sigman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bill Clinton, Dean Olsher, Crossword Puzzle, Leonard Bernstein, Iris DeMent, Stephen Sondheim, Norman Mailer, Queen Elizabeth II, Company, Acrostic, Mark Beeman, West Side Story, Anterior Cingulate Cortex, Brain, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Christmas, Dan Feyer, New York Times, Follies, Cryptic, Entertainment News
Michael Sigman

"_____ comes but once a year. Var." Can you solve this devilish holiday-season crossword puzzle clue? Hint: The correct nine-letter answer starts with a "C" and ends with an "s" -- and it's not "Christmas".

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PHOTOS: Last Night In LA

Huffington Post | Nicole Larson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bruno Mars, West Side Story, b.o.b., Slidepollajax, La Around Town, Jennifer Love Hewitt, GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!, Katy Perry, Los Angeles News

On Wednesday night, artists B.o.B and Bruno Mars performed at the GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!, where Selina Gomez and Foo Fighters front man Dav...

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Revisiting West Side Story (VIDEOS)

George Heymont | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: New York City Center, Arthur Laurents, Debbie Allen, Officer Krupke, Leonard Bernstein, Follies, Tom Hatcher, Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story, Pookie Goes Grenading, West Bank Story, Louis Armstrong, Kyle Harris, Jets, Web Site Story, J.C. Lee, Eydie Gorme, A Boy Like That, Opera Pacific, David Saint, Jerome Robbins, Jerry Herman, Cher, Hello Dolly, Bruce Vilanch, Ali Ewoldt, I Feel Pretty, Sharks, Gangs, Joey McKneeley, Lori Werner, Mame, Arts News
George Heymont

Although I did not see the original production of West Side Story, I've been lucky to see several others.

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WATCH: HAIKU REVIEWS: SeeLine, West Side, And An Unexpected Man | San Francisco, LA, NYC

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: San Jose Rep, Pacific Design Center, Slidepollajax, West Side Story, The Unexpected Man, American Indian Film Festival, San Jose, SeeLine Gallery, Mary Stuart, Arts News

HuffPost Arts' Haiku Reviews is a weekly feature where invited critics review exhibitions and performances in short form. This week, Peter Frank, Geor...

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Brush up Your Shakespeare! (VIDEOS)

George Heymont | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Romeo and Juliet, Undead, Hamlet, The Tempest, Mafia, Julius Caesar, Shylock, Othello, Kiss Me Kate, The Boys From Syracuse, The Comedy of Errors, West Side Story, The Merchant of Venice, 10 Things I Hate About You, King Lear, Jew, The Dresser, Romeo Must Die, Albert Finney, Klingon, Orson Welles, A Midsummer Night?S Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Slings and Arrows, Cole Porter, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare, Were the World Mine, The Taming of the Shrew, Falstaff, Rosencrantz, Burbage, Guildenstern, Elderhostel, Iago, Arts News
George Heymont

Shakespeare's plays have been the stuff of inspiration for playwrights, composers, and film directors. Here are a few of the best and worst attempts to re-imagine the Bard.

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Dreamgirls Gets a Facelift

George Heymont | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hudson Scenic Studios, Michelle Obama, Jennifer Holliday, Robert Longbottom, Longtime Companion, Hairspray, John Breglio, Syesh Mercado, Milton Craig Nealy, Robin Wagner, Moya Angela, Apollo Theatre, Dreamgirls, Michael Bennett, West Side Story, Diana Ross, Margaret Hoffman, Adrienne Warren, Stephen Caffrey, Harlem, City Island, Payola, Henry Krieger, Led, Korea, Trevon Davis, Shane Sparks, Jarran Muse, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, West Point, William Ivey Long, Zuckerbaby, Arts News
George Heymont

From the very first beats of Henry Krieger's score, the new staging of Dreamgirls roars out of the opening gate and never slows down.

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Broadway Miracle Sighted on PBS -- South Pacific Permitted Full Use of Real Instruments

Melody Breyer-Grell | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Masterpiece-Theatre, Techno, South Pacific, War in Vietnam, Pbs, Musical Theater, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Broadway, Leonard Bernstein, American Culture, Viet Nam, Alan Alda, West Side Story, Quys and Dolls, Opera, Avant-Garde, South Pacific Revival, Jazz, Sweeny Todd, Chinese Exports, French Indochina, Martians, James Michener, South-Pacific-Paul-Szot, Arts News
Melody Breyer-Grell

South Pacific, based on a collection of stories by James Michener, is a multifaceted piece. The plot is the thing in this play, although it is loaded with the requisite number of hit tunes.

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First Nighter: Stephen Sondheim Wants to Know

David Finkle | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Broadway, Follies, Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy, Company, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Anyone Can Whistle, Merrily We Roll Along, Passion, The Mad Show, Dick Tracy, Road Show, Arts News
David Finkle

In celebration of Stephen Sondheim's eightieth birthday, his songs are being sung even more this year than they usually are -- which in Manhattan intimate rooms is quite often, to say the least.

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'Tis a Pity She's No Longer a Whore -- Times Square Cultural Armageddon

Melody Breyer-Grell | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: David Duchovny Sex Addiction, Puccini, Nyc, Revelations, End-of-Days, Fife, The Rapture, George Bernard Shaw, Stephen Sondheim, Satan, West Side Story, God, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Jesus, Pagan, Wagner, Moses, Tim LaHaye, Dallas, Heaven, Bible, Techno-Addiction, Avatar, Hades, Apocalypto, John Doyle, Bach, Carousel, Pornography, Wnyc, Mel Gibson, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Wicker Man, Richard Rodgers, Synth, Arts News
Melody Breyer-Grell

And they said things were bad in the 70's. The dirt, the porno shops, the Disco. All that is now a fond memory for many New Yorkers who gamely braved that bit of Hades to attend a real Broadway musical.

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George Chakiris: A Star 48 Years After His Oscar (VIDEO)

Tom Gregory | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Academy Awards, Robert Wise, Academy Awards, 1961, Bernardo, Oscar, Jerome Robbins, Jewelry, Marilyn Monroe, 82nd Annual Academy Awards, West Side Story, Gentlemen Perfer Blondes, Naralie Wood, The Golden Age of Hollywood, George Chakiris, Statuette, The Oscars, Entertainment News
Tom Gregory

In 1962, George Chakiris' portrayal of Bernardo in West Side Story took the silver screen by storm, earning him an Academy Award. George talked to me about life lived under and out of the spotlight.

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Why We Use the Full Orchestra

Michael Kaiser | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: West Side Story, Ticket Prices, South Pacific, Arts Management, National Symphony Orchestra, Non-Profit Theater, Arts Inflation, Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center, Entertainment News
Michael Kaiser

In an effort to fill the growing gap between expenses and revenue, theater producers have pursued two strategies: raising ticket prices and lowering costs.

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Stage Door: Geniuses of the American Musical Theatre, Linda Eder

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Broadway, Town Hall, Musical Theater, Linda Eder, West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Judy Garland, New York News
Fern Siegel

Linda Eder, a veteran of the concert stage, returns to Town Hall Oct. 17 as part of the Broadway Cabaret Festival, running Oct. 16-18.

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Broadway Looks at Racism in the Obama Era

David Finkle | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: E. Y. Harburg, Shrek, Broadway Plays and Musicals, South Pacific, Hamlet, Barack Obama Influence, Oscar Hammerstein, Finian's Rainbow, Memphis, Avenue Q, West Side Story, Jude Law, Race, After Miss Julie, August: Osage County, E.L. Doctorow, Burton Lane, Hair, Racism, In the Heights, Patrick Marber, Tracy Letts, David Mamet, Superior Donuts, Ragtime, New York News
David Finkle

Of the 35 productions running or opening shortly -- including Hamlet and Patrick Marber's After Miss Julie -- at least 10 offerings have a rainbow-coalition hue.

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