December, 1957

A glowing review of West Side Story appeared in the December 1957 issue of Theatre Arts. The critic singles out Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert in an unqualified rave that opens with "fascinating" and closes with "masterpiece." Also on hand is a fine article by Emily Coleman entitled "The Story Behind West Side Story which dwells less on coverage of the masterwork’s history than on the history of Broadway’s new wunderkind, Jerome Robbins. In advance of all the stories that were to follow about Robbins' uncaring and mean-spirited attitude to his dancers, the author extracted this statement from the man "who had just turned juvenile delinquency into a Broadway hit." On the subject of hiring unknowns for his new work, Mr. Robbins had this to say: "The subject matter…made us want to use young people with little stage experience. These kids really listened. They got as close to what I wanted as possible. There is a dedication about this cast that you usually find in non-commercial theater. Out of it will come a lot of stars."