Editing West Side Story (section)

===Production period===
[[File:Larry Kert as Tony West Side Story 1957.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Larry Kert]] as Tony, original Broadway production (1957)]]
[[File:Balcony scene West Side Story.JPG|thumb|upright|Kert and Lawrence in the balcony scene (1957)]]
Prince began cutting the budget and raising money. Robbins then announced he did not want to choreograph the show, but changed his mind when Prince agreed to an eight-week dance rehearsal period (instead of the customary four), since there was to be more dancing in ''West Side Story'' than in any previous Broadway show,<ref name="Bibliography"/> and allowed Robbins to hire [[Peter Gennaro]] as his assistant.{{sfn|Laurents|2000|pp=354–356}} Originally, when considering the cast, Laurents wanted [[James Dean]] for the lead role of Tony, but the actor soon died. Sondheim found [[Larry Kert]] and [[Chita Rivera]], who created the roles of Tony and Anita, respectively. Getting the work on stage was still not easy. Bernstein said:
{{blockquote|Everyone told us that [''West Side Story''] was an impossible project ... And we were told no one was going to be able to sing [[augmented fourth]]s, as with "Ma-ri-a" ... Also, they said the score was too rangy for pop music ... Besides, who wanted to see a show in which the first-act curtain comes down on two dead bodies lying on the stage?... And then we had the really tough problem of casting it, because the characters had to be able not only to sing but dance and act and be taken for teenagers. Ultimately, some of the cast were teenagers, some were 21, some were 30 but looked 16. Some were wonderful singers but couldn't dance very well, or vice versa ... and if they could do both, they couldn't act.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Wenner, Jann S. |author2=Levy, Joe |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2CaFeDa_m0C&q=%22Rolling+Stone%22+%22Leonard+Bernstein%22+Cott&pg=PT190 |chapter=Leonard Bernstein |title=The Rolling Stone Interviews |publisher=Back Bay Books |location=New York |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-316-00526-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneinte00jann}}</ref>}}

Throughout the rehearsal period, the New York newspapers were filled with articles about gang warfare, keeping the show's plot timely. Robbins kept the cast members playing the Sharks and the Jets separate to discourage them from socializing with each other and reminded everyone of the reality of gang violence by posting news stories on the bulletin board backstage.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Roberts|first=Terri|date=Winter 2003|title=West Side Story: 'We were all very young' |url=https://www.sondheimreview.com/magazine/vol-9-no-3-winter-2003/#10|journal=[[The Sondheim Review]]|volume=9|issue=3|pages=28–29|issn=1076-450X|access-date=January 19, 2018|archive-date=July 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713001859/https://www.sondheimreview.com/magazine/vol-9-no-3-winter-2003/#10|url-status=live}}</ref> Robbins wanted a gritty realism from his sneaker- and jeans-clad cast. He gave the ensemble more freedom than Broadway dancers had previously been given to interpret their roles, and the dancers were thrilled to be treated like actors instead of just choreographed bodies.{{sfn|Laurents|2000|pp=357–358}} Robbins gave each dancer a unique gesture repertoire specific to their character.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/musicals0000beri|title=Musicals: An Illustrated Historical Overview|year=1998|publisher=[[ Barron's]]|isbn=9780764104367|last=Bering|first= Rüdiger |author-link=Rüdiger Bering|page=105}}</ref> As the rehearsals wore on, Bernstein fought to keep his score together, as other members of the team called on him to cut out more and more of the sweeping or complex "operatic" passages.<ref name="Bibliography"/> [[Columbia Records]] initially declined to record the [[cast album]], saying the score was too depressing and too difficult.<ref name="Bernstein"/>

There were problems with [[Oliver Smith (designer)|Oliver Smith]]'s designs. His painted backdrops were stunning, but the sets were, for the most part, either shabby looking or too stylized. Prince refused to spend money on new construction, and Smith was obliged to improve what he had as best he could with very little money to do it.{{sfn|Laurents|2000|pp=360–361}} The pre-Broadway run in Washington, D.C., was a critical and commercial success, although none of the reviews mentioned Sondheim, listed as co-lyricist, who was overshadowed by the better-known Bernstein. Bernstein magnanimously removed his name as co-author of the lyrics, although Sondheim was uncertain he wanted to receive sole credit for what he considered to be overly florid contributions by Bernstein. Robbins demanded and received a "Conceived by" credit, and used it to justify his making major decisions regarding changes in the show without consulting the others. As a result, by opening night on Broadway, none of his collaborators were talking to him.{{sfn|Laurents|2000|pp=362–365}}

It was rumored that while Bernstein was away trying to fix the musical ''Candide'', Sondheim wrote some of the music for ''West Side Story'', and that Bernstein's co-lyricist billing disappeared from the credits of ''West Side Story'' during the tryout as a trade-off.<ref>[[Steven Suskin|Suskin, Steven]] (1990). ''Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre''. New York: Schirmer Books, p. 697. {{ISBN|0-02-872625-1}}.</ref> However, [[Steven Suskin]] writes in his book ''Show Tunes'' that "as the writing progressed and the extent of Bernstein's lyric contributions became less, the composer agreed to rescind his credit. ... Contrary to rumor, Sondheim did not write music for the show; his only contribution came on 'Something's Coming'", where he developed the main strain of the chorus from music Bernstein wrote for the verse.<ref>Suskin, Steven (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=_3mOZv6OaUIC&dq=Suskin+%22West+Side+Story%22&pg=PA207 ''Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006172420/https://books.google.com/books?id=_3mOZv6OaUIC&pg=PA207&dq=Suskin+%22West+Side+Story%22&hl=en |date=October 6, 2016}} (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press US, p. 206. {{ISBN|0-19-531407-7}}</ref>