West Side Story based loosely on "West Side Story" and adapting parts of the musical's music and lyrics, was performed a total of more than 500 times in Miami Beach, Florida, Stockholm, Gran Canaria and Los Angeles. The show lampoons the musical's tragic love story, and also lip-synching and drag shows. West Side Story West Side Story is a musical with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s, an
America (West Side Story song) of Bernardo. In the progressive rock band Yes' cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "America", bassist Chris Squire quotes the "West Side Story" song near the conclusion of their instrumental intro. A theme from "America" was referenced by John Williams for his celebratory "For New York", composed in 1988 for Bernstein's 70th birthday gala. In 2011, the song was covered by the cast of musical comedy television series "Glee" in the fifth episode of the third season, "The First Time" (aired on November 8), with character Santana Lopez (portrayed by Naya Rivera) on the lead. A minor controversy was caused over