History Theatre / WestSideStory

* WhyDontYouMarryIt: Baby John comments on a comic book he's reading, declaring his love for the main hero (Superman in the stage show, Shazam/DC's Captain Marvel in the film). A gang member (Snowboy in the stage show, Action in the film) irritably respond, "So marry him!"

* ButchLesbian: Anybodys' masculine look can be read as this, though their orientation and gender can be ambiguous.

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:After being shot by Chino, Tony dies as Maria holds him.]]
* DigitalDestruction: To put it bluntly, ''every'' 21st century physical release of the film has at least one flaw. Most infamously, the single-disc 2003 DVD is in PanAndScan, the Special Edition DVD plays "Tonight" out of sync, and the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray has the screen turn black during a few seconds of the overture.

* DoubleEntendre: "Hey! I got a social disease!", referring of course, to juvenile delinquency, but the term "Social Disease" can also mean a sexually transmitted diease.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Tony at the end is shot to death, and Maria laments how hatred killed him.]]

* {{Irony}}: When told that Maria is dead, Tony becomes a DeathSeeker, and screams out for Chino to kill him too. He snaps out of it when he sees Maria alive, only for [[spoiler:Chino to oblige his death wish a little too late]].

* ShippingTorpedo: Anita tries to sink Tony/Maria because she believes Tony is a dangerous, murderous boy who will break Maria's heart. [[spoiner:She's not wrong.]]

A 1957 Broadway [[TheMusical musical]] presented by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, with music composed by Music/LeonardBernstein and lyrics written by Music/StephenSondheim, and its 1961 [[TheMovie film adaptation]], produced by The Mirisch Corporation in association with Seven Arts Productions and distributed by Creator/UnitedArtists. A SettingUpdate adaptation of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''.

The year 2020 was set to be a landmark for the show, though it has been marred by the onset of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. In February 2020, a Broadway revival was staged (the first in more than a decade) by avant-garde director Creator/IvoVanHove, who, for the first time, incorporated entirely original new and modern choreography into the show. It stars Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, and Yesenia Ayala as Anita. However, performances of the show were postponed indefinitely less than a month into its run due to the pandemic. In addition, Creator/StevenSpielberg directed a new film adaptation in the musical, with a screenplay by Creator/TonyKushner. Creator/AnselElgort was cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] plays Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent. Production wrapped in September 2019, but the pandemic resulted in the film being delayed to December 2021.

The year 2020 was set to be a landmark for the show, though it has been marred by the onset of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. In February 2020, a Broadway revival was staged (the first in more than a decade) by avant-garde director Creator/IvoVanHove, who, for the first time, incorporated entirely original new and modern choreography into the show. It stars Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, and Yesenia Ayala as Anita. However, performances of the show were postponed indefinitely less than a month into its run due to the pandemic. In addition, Creator/StevenSpielberg directed a new film adaptation in the musical, with a screenplay by Creator/TonyKushner.. Creator/AnselElgort has been cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] will portray Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent. Production wrapped in September 2019, but the pandemic resulted in the film being delayed to December 2021.

The year 2020 was set to be a landmark for the show, though it has been marred by the onset of the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic. In February 2020, a Broadway revival was staged (the first in more than a decade) by avant-garde director Creator/IvoVanHove, who, for the first time, incorporated entirely original new and modern choreography into the show. It stars Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, and Yesenia Ayala as Anita. However, performances of the show were postponed indefinitely less than a month into its run due to the pandemic. In addition, Creator/StevenSpielberg will be directing a new film adaptation in the musical, with a screenplay by Creator/TonyKushner for release in December of 2021. Creator/AnselElgort has been cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] will portray Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent. For the moment, no pandemic-related delays have been announced (production wrapped in September 2019).

The year 2020 was set to be a landmark for the show, though it has been marred by the onset of the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic. In February 2020, a Broadway revival was staged (the first in more than a decade) by avant-garde director Creator/IvoVanHove, who, for the first time, incorporated entirely original new and modern choreography into the show. It stars Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, and Yesenia Ayala as Anita. However, performances of the show were postponed indefinitely less than a month into its run due to the pandemic. In addition, Creator/StevenSpielberg will be directing a new film adaptation in the musical, with a screenplay by Creator/TonyKushner for release in December of 2020. Creator/AnselElgort has been cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] will portray Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent. For the moment, no pandemic-related delays have been announced (production wrapped in September 2019).

* DownerEnding: Sure, the fighting's over, but three people are dead. But come on, this was based off of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', so it was hard not to see that one coming. At least the ''West Side'' ending can be considered Lighter and Softer than the ''Romeo'' ending, since [[spoiler: Maria survives.]]

* AmbiguouslyGay: Anybodys, whose transmasculine qualities can be played as a tomboy, a ButchLesbian, or a trans man, depending on the production.

* DigitalDestruction: To put it bluntly, ''every'' DVD and Blu-Ray Disc has at least one flaw. Most infamously, the single-disc 2003 DVD is in PanAndScan, the Special Edition DVD plays "Tonight" out of sync, and the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray has the screen turn black during a few seconds of the overture.

* {{Intermission}}: The play ends Act I after the rumble, while Act I of the movie ends after the war council. However, some prints of the movie don't have an intermission at all, since director Robert Wise felt that it broke the tension.

The year 2020 will be a landmark for the show. In February 2020, a Broadway revival will be staged (the first in more than a decade) by Avant Garde director Creator/IvoVanHove, who will for the first time be incorporating entirely original new and modern choreography into the show, which stars Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, and Yesenia Ayala as Anita.
In addition, Creator/StevenSpielberg will be directing a new film adaptation in the musical, with a screenplay by Creator/TonyKushner for release in December of 2020. Creator/AnselElgort has been cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] will portray Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent.

'''Action''': When you was my age; when my old man was my age; when my brother was my age! ''You was never my age, none of you!'' The sooner you creeps get hip to that, the sooner you'll dig us.

* ShippingTorpedo: Anita tries to sink Tony/Maria because she believes Tony is a dangerous, murderous boy who will break Maria's heart.

* DigitalDestruction: To put it bluntly, ''every'' DVD and Blu-Ray Disc has at least one flaw. Most infamously, the 2003 DVD is in PanAndScan, the Special Edition DVD plays "Tonight" out of sync, and the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray has the screen turn black during a few seconds of the overture.

** In the 2020 revival, the Jets are composed of whites and African-Americans, while the Sharks consist of Latinos of all nationalities, not just Puerto Ricans.

* WhyDontYouMarryIt: Baby John comments on a comic book he's reading, declaring his love for the main hero (Superman in the stage show, Captain Marvel in the film). A gang member (Snowboy in the stage show, Action in the film) irritably respond, "So marry him!"

** "I feel pretty and witty and gay" - only in the movie. This was near the end of time when one could use "gay" in its original sense.

* SettingUpdate: ''Romeo And Juliet'' [[AC:IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY NEW YORK CITY! AS A MUSICAL!]]

** Bernardo and Riff pretend to be friendly when they notice Krupke eying them suspiciously.

In 2018, Creator/StevenSpielberg announced that he'd begun casting another film adaptation, a long-time passion project that he'd finally gotten the rights for. Creator/AnselElgort has been cast as Tony, while newcomer Rachel Zegler [[note]] who came to Spielberg’s attention after a video from her Website/YouTube channel of her singing “Shallow” from ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018'' went viral [[/note]] will portray Maria. This remake will reportedly be more mindful towards ethnic accuracy and representation than the original, with all of the Hispanic roles being filled by actors of Latino descent. The film will be released on December 18, 2020.

%% * ButchLesbian: Anybodys' masculine look can be read as this, though their orientation and gender can be ambiguous.

%% * DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: The Jets' Song plays this trope straight; the rest of the musical deconstructs it.
%% * DanceOfRomance: Tony and Maria, though it is a cha-cha and not the more standard waltz.

** The line, "Trusting with our hearts open! With our arms open!" - "You came with your legs open!" was replaced "legs" with "[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar mouth]]."

* WideEyedIdealist: Glad Hand, who tries and fails to get the gangs to befriend each other.