The collaboration between musical genius/educator Leonard Bernstein, author/playwright Arthur Laurents and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim resulted in one of the most successful musical theater productions of all time. The concept of a contemporary musical re-telling of Shakespeare's tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet originated with Jerome Robins, (who eventually directed and choreographed the work). Like most big-budget productions there were lots of changes and tweaks before the ground-breaking production finally appeared on stage in September 1957. (It might have been titled 'East Side Story', with a plot based on the tensions between  a Catholic and Jewish family over the Passover/Christmas season and starring  Elvis Presley!! - possibilities discussed by the collaborators and eventually rejected as the work continued to evolve). In the end, the ill-fated lovers are transported to the Puerto Rican ghetto on the west side of Manhattan island and the plot is based on the turf rivalry between young, ethnic street gangs; the self-styled 'American' Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.

Although the theme was definitely on the dark side and Bernstein's edgy score was far removed from the frothy pop tunes of the day, the show garnered immediate rave reviews, running for 734 performances before going on the road and then returning for another run of 249 performances. Adaptations of the the musical continue to be staged all over the world and it has been translated into numerous languages. The film version, with a completely different starring cast, was released in 1961. Some songs were re-ordered , sequences augmented or deleted entirely, (i.e. the 'Somewhere' ballet) and lyrics re-written, but Bernstein's brilliant score only improved with studio orchestration and production.

The two versions of 'America' are illustrative of the production differences between the original CBS recording of the stage cast, (made only 3 days after opening night), and the meticulously studio-crafted, heavily-dubbed movie soundtrack. Ironically, both versions come from Columbia Records - who initially declined to record the original cast album, because the score was "too depressing and too difficult". The 'tough stuff' of West Side Story, however, is obviously going to be remembered for a long time to come.