Did you know?
West Side Story was originally set to be called East Side Story and was supposed to be about a Jewish girl and a Catholic boy.
The Jets and Sharks were prohibited from interacting with each other off stage to try to create real hostility between the gangs.
"Something's Coming" was added just 12 days before the premiere in Washington, D.C.
The first Broadway run of West Side Story ran for 732 performances and toured nationally.
The London West End production ran for 1,000 performances!
Chita Rivera (who played Anita on Broadway) and Tony Mordente, who was a Jet, got married and had a child, despite Robbins "no socializing" rule!
"One Hand, One Heart" was originally written for Bernstein's musical Candide, which he was writing at the same time. He chose to repurpose it as a romantic duet for Tony and Maria. In exchange, the duet he wrote for West Side Story, called "O, Happy We", was moved to Candide.
