West Side Story 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 ethnic, blue-collar neighborhood (in the early 1960s, much of the neighborhood was cleared in an urban renewal project for Lincoln Center, which changed the neighborhood's character). The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of
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