Creating 'West Side Story': An Investigation of the Sociopolitical Backgrounds and Collaborative Relationships of Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim in the Creation of the Original Broadway roduction of 'West Side Sto

This focus of this thesis is twofold: primarily, this investigation is focused on illustrating the sociopolitical similarities of Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim and to discern any possible influence those similarities had on the collaboration and the creation of the original production of West Side Story. The secondary focus of this study is to expose the dissimilar accounts within the available literature regarding the period of collaboration and to attempt to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how the collaboration unfolded. Using biographical accounts of the creators along with published interviews with the collaborators and their colleagues, the study examines the similar backgrounds of the four main creators of West Side Story, including their upbringing, their relationship with their faith, their sexuality and their political ideology. In addition, the study examines the potential influences the similarities had on the creation of West Side Story . Finally, the study seeks to determine if these similar identities impacted the collaboration and to demonstrate that the creative period and collaborative relationships may not have been as idyllic as many biographers and historians depict. By illustrating the similar backgrounds and synthesizing the accounts of the collaboration, the reader can gain a clearer image of how the original production of West Side Story was created.