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When Bernstein wrote West Side Story, it was a new type of musical with a plot rooted in violence and tragedy, a modernised version of Romeo and Juliet incorporating music and contemporary dance. The music set the scene of what was to come in musical theatre. Works such as Oklahoma and Carousel always ended cheerfully whereas West Side Story covered controversial issues and paved the way for musical dramas such as Cabaret.
The music, which integrated ideas from opera, jazz, music hall, popular song and Latin-American traditions, was a combination that far exceeded the ambitions of any earlier work in this genre.
Approximate Word count = 436 Approximate Pages = 1.7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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