West Side Story. A Musical. Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins. Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Entire Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins.

LAURENTS, Arthur.

Published by New York: Random House, 1958

About this Item

First edition of the text for the landmark musical of the Broadway stage, published within Random House's series of "Recent Broadway Hits" six months after the premiere. Choreographer Jerome Robbins first proposed a collaboration on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet with the composer Leonard Bernstein and the playwright Arthur Laurents in 1949. The project was slow to progress; Stephen Sondheim joined the creative team only when Bernstein's first choices of lyricists were unavailable. The Broadway premiere took place at the Winter Garden Theatre on 26 September 1957. It ran for 732 performances and won Robbins the Tony Award for Best Choreographer (West Side Story included more dancing than any previous Broadway show). The first West End production opened on 12 December 1958 and ran for 1,039 performances. There have been numerous Broadway and West End revivals together with two film adaptations (released in 1961, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and 2021, directed by Steven Spielberg who revealed "West Side Story was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I. fell completely in love with it as a kid"). Octavo. Double-page half-tone frontispiece and 2 half-tones after photographs of original production by Fred Fehl. Original grey boards, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, black ground on spine and front cover containing gilt titles and publisher's emblem, front cover with five black frames enclosing mounted half-tone, replicating jacket design, top edge pink. With dust jacket (priced at $2.95 and with code "3/58" at foot of front flap). A little skewed, slight colour variance to cloth as usual, endpapers slightly toned; unclipped jacket sunned at spins with a few marks and minor abrasions: a very good copy in like jacket.

Seller Inventory # 191044

Bibliographic Details

• Title: West Side Story. A Musical. Based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins. Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Entire Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
• Publisher: New York: Random House, 1958
• Edition: 1st Edition