50 Years of 'West Side Story' http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14732874&ft=1&f=14732874 An hour-long documentary hosted by NPR's Scott Simon, <em>A Place For Us</em> explores the creation and the cultural influence of a musical that changed the way Broadway thought of musicals. Explore the special below — or click the slideshow image (below right) for a multimedia tour. en Copyright 2013 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.94 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:57:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/npr_news_123x20.gif 50 Years of 'West Side Story' http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14732874&ft=1&f=14732874 Part Three: Broadway to Hollywood — and Beyond Critics were lukewarm about <em>West Side Story</em> onstage, and some audiences found it alienating. The 1961 movie won 10 Oscars, though — never mind that Broadway librettist Arthur Laurents hated it — and sealed the show's success. In 50 years, it's been staged more than 40,000 times. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:57:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14749729&ft=1&f=14732874 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14749729&ft=1&f=14732874 Critics were lukewarm about West Side Story onstage, and some audiences found it alienating. The 1961 movie won 10 Oscars, though — never mind that Broadway librettist Arthur Laurents hated it — and sealed the show's success. In 50 years, it's been staged more than 40,000 times.

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]]> Part One: Making a New Kind of Musical Getting <em>West Side Story</em> from page to stage was no easy task. Its creators had to rewrite Shakespeare, invent a convincing street language and find financial backers for a musical that perplexed pretty much everyone who heard it. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:57:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14730899&ft=1&f=14732874 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14730899&ft=1&f=14732874 Getting West Side Story from page to stage was no easy task. Its creators had to rewrite Shakespeare, invent a convincing street language and find financial backers for a musical that perplexed pretty much everyone who heard it.

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]]> Part Two: Casting Calls and Out-of-Town Trials Grueling auditions — 13 of them, for the young unknown eventually cast as Maria — and an unprecedented 8-week rehearsal period were just two of the ways <em>West Side Story</em> departed from Broadway norms. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14744266&ft=1&f=14732874 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14744266&ft=1&f=14732874 Grueling auditions — 13 of them, for the young unknown eventually cast as Maria — and an unprecedented 8-week rehearsal period were just two of the ways West Side Story departed from Broadway norms.

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