Alone Together

Recently, my friend invited me to see the new revival of West Side Story on Broadway. If you know me, you know that I am a musical theater enthusiast and I aspire to be dancing on Broadway one day. I jumped at the opportunity to see this new rendition of one of my favorite musicals that had resulted in such a large uproar in the theater community. I was intrigued to see why this revamped version had caused such a great sense of unrest in the theater community as it stretched many people’s preconceived visions of this traditional Romeo and Juliet love story. So many people were tied to the original Broadway production and the movie directed by Robert Wise and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and therefore had a hard time grappling with the evolving and fiery revival on Broadway directed by Ivo Van Hove and choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. 

Old or new, West Side Story is a musical that tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Maria and Tony who are affiliated with two rival gangs. These rival gangs represent two different races who are competing to have precedence over the desired territory of the 

Upper West Side in the late 1950s. The Jets are a white gang and The Sharks are a Puerto Rican gang who use violence in an attempt to settle their problems with one another. Each member of the gang derives their identity from being a part of the gang with rather than themselves. Riff, for example, the leader of the Jets identifies as a Jet just as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks identifies as a Shark.

In the revival, there is a new emphasis on the social context of social media and the implications it has on these gangs.The revival modernized West Side Story by giving it a current racial context with police brutality and racial prejudices at its core. The new production utilized cinematography and projections of the live action on stage as a nod to the “selfie culture” we live in today. Still Tony, the protagonist and a member of the Jets falls in love with Maria, whose brother is Bernardo the head of the Sharks. These lovers are able to see past their rival gangs as being their identity and fight to be together. Through connection, Tony and Maria are able to let go of identifying solely as gang members and are able to find love because they accept their individuality and value as a human rather than a group member. 

In my (Re)Writing History course this semester, we explored themes of time, identity, and social divisions through the lens of those who have chosen to rewrite history. Specifically, the theme of identity seemed to be a recurring topic that was unveiled by different writers and directors from the content we explored. One’s sense of identity and perception of themselves has a direct correlation to their environment and situation. We read “The Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison at the beginning of the semester and explored how Ellison’s writing brings the racist social and intellectual struggles faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century to light. His novel calls into question moral dilemmas the narrator faces with regard to race versus individuality. As humans we form groups in order to align our opinions with those around us to feel accepted by society. It is an instinct of ours as humans to find other people and conglomerate to form larger ideals that represent our own. Does fitting in with the crowd come at the sacrifice of your identity?

In Ellison’s novel, “The Invisible Man”, the narrator feels unnoticed and invisible to those around him because he is a black man living in the early twentieth century with no leverage or community to belong to. In an effort to develop his identity as well as a sense of belonging, the narrator joins “The Brotherhood” which is a black youth group. The narrator is quickly betrayed by one of the lead members of the group and learns that he must resort to forming his identity another way. The narrator frees himself from the responsibility of being a youth group member by discarding his alliance with them and ultimately burning tokens of his past to free him from previous burdens. The novel ends with the narrator developing a new life for himself where he can construct his own identity without the hindrance of relying on a group to define him.

In the end, both Tony and Maria in West Side Story and the narrator in “The Invisible Man'' discover that by identifying as a group/gang member they felt stifled as their thoughts and opinions became secondary to that of the group. Once these characters are able to come to terms with this being a false representation of them as people, they choose to re-evaluate their moral sentiments and start over. 

The Invisible Man

West Side Story Revival

The lesson one can learn from both of these artistic interpretations of history is that it is our job as humans to cultivate our own identities without the crutch of others to identity for us. Although being a part of a larger group or effort is vital for societal growth as a whole, in order for individuals to grow and prosper they must find themselves and become secure in their own identities. The path of self-identification is one that every human experiences and struggles with before finding themself. This path is affected by both the present and by history, however we must follow this path to our self-understanding in order for everyone to come into their greatest potential. 





By: Grace Sautter