Events in Music
West Side Story
1957-09-26 Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins' musical "West Side Story" opens at the Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 732 performances, wins 2 Tony Awards
West Side Story
1959-06-27 Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins' musical "West Side Story" closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 734 performances and 2 Tony Award wins
West Side Story
1961-10-18 Film adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical "West Side Story", directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and starring Natalie Wood, premieres (Academy Award - Best Picture, 1962)
Academy Awards
1962-04-09 34th Academy Awards: "West Side Story" (Best Picture, Director, and 8 more), Sophia Loren (Two Women) & Maximilian Schell (Judgement At Nuremberg) win
- 1962-05-05 "West Side Story" soundtrack album goes #1 & stays #1 for 54 weeks which is more than 20 weeks longer than any other album
West Side Story
1980-02-14 Revival of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins' musical "West Side Story" opens at Minskoff Theater, NYC; runs for 341 performances
- 1980-11-30 Revival of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins' musical "West Side Story" closes at Minskoff Theater, NYC, after 341 performances
- 2022-01-10 79th Golden Globes: Best film "The Power of the Dog" (drama), "West Side Story" (comedy/musical), Best TV series "Succession", Best Director Jane Campion (Motion Picture)
Birthdays in Music
- 1910-03-12 Roger L. Stevens, American real estate magnate, Broadway theater producer (West Side Story) and fundraiser (John F. Kennedy Center), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1998) [1]
- 1911-10-01 Irwin Kostal, American orchestra leader and arranger (West Side Story: The Sound Of Music; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1994)
- 1914-09-10 Robert Wise, American Academy Award-winning film director (The Day the Earth Stood Still; West Side Story; The Sound Of Music), born in Winchester, Indiana (d. 2005)
- 1918-07-14 Arthur Laurents, American playwright (West Side Story; Gypsy), and screenwriter (Rope; Anastasia), born in New York City (d. 2011)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
1918-08-25 American Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1958-69; Israel Philharmonic; London Symphony), and composer (West Side Story; Chichester Psalms), born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Jerome Robbins (1918-1998)
1918-10-11 American Tony and Academy Award-winning theater and ballet choreographer and director (West Side Story; Peter Pan), born in Manhattan, New York
- 1928-01-30 Harold Prince, American producer and director (West Side Story, Evita), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2019)
- 1929-02-22 (Margaret) "Marni" Nixon [McEathron], American soprano singer and film 'ghost voice' (for Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady"; Natalie Wood in "West Side Story"; Deborah Kerr in "The King And I"), born in Altadena, California (d. 2016)
Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)
1930-03-22 American Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning composer and lyricist (West Side Story; Sunday in the Park With George; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Gypsy), born in New York City [1]
Rita Moreno (92 years old)
1931-12-11 Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress (West Side Story), born in Humacao, Puerto Rico
- 1932-02-29 Reri Grist, African-American musical theater and operatic coloratura soprano (West Side Story - "Somewhere"; Zurich Opera, 1962-66; Bayerische Staatsoper, 1965-87; New York Metropolitan Opera, 1966-79), born in New York City
- 1933-01-23 Chita Rivera, American Tony Award-winning dancer, singer, and actress (West Side Story; Bye Bye Birdie; Sweet Charity; Chicago), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2024) [1] [2]
- 1934-09-05 Carol Lawrence, American actress (West Side Story), born in Melrose Park, Illinois
- 1934-09-16 George Chakiris, American actor (West Side Story), born in Norwood, Ohio
- 1934-11-24 Martin Charnin, American Broadway stage singer, dancer (West Side Story), director, and lyricist (Annie), born in New York City (d. 2019)
- 1936-04-24 (Thomas) "Tucker" Smith, American stage and screen dancer, singer and actor (West Side Story - "Ice"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1988)
- 1937-02-18 Alan Johnson, American Emmy Award-winning screen and stage choreographer (The Producers - "Springtime for Hitler"; Legs Diamond), director (To Be Or Not To Be), and dancer (West Side Story), born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
Natalie Wood (1938-1981)
1938-07-20 American actress (Miracle on 34th Street; Gypsy; Rebel Without A Cause; West Side Story), born in San Francisco, California
- 1939-02-21 Richard Beymer, American stage actor and singer (West Side Story; Diary of Anne Frank), born in Avoca, Iowa
- 1991-01-25 Ariana DeBose, American actress and singer (West Side Story), born in North Carolina
- 2001-05-03 Rachel Zegler, American actress, singer and YouTuber (West Side Story), born in Hackensack, New Jersey
Deaths in Music
Natalie Wood (1938-1981)
1981-11-29 American actress (Miracle on 34th Street; Gypsy; Rebel Without A Cause; West Side Story), dies due to "drowning and other undetermined factors" at 43
- 1988-12-22 (Thomas) "Tucker" Smith, American stage and screen dancer, singer and actor (West Side Story - "Ice"), dies of cancer at 52
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
1990-10-14 American Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1958-69; Israel Philharmonic; London Symphony), and composer (West Side Story; Chichester Psalms), dies of a heart attack at 72
- 1991-06-06 Larry Kert, American actor (West Side Story - "Tony"), dies of AIDS at 60
- 1994-11-30 Irwin Kostal, American orchestra leader and arranger (West Side Story; The Sound Of Music; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), dies at 83
- 1997-11-15 Saul Chaplin [Kaplan], American Oscar Award-winning stage, and screen composer, arranger, and orchestrator (An American in Paris; "The Anniversary Song"), dies at 85
- 1998-02-02 Roger L. Stevens, American real estate magnate, Broadway theater producer (West Side Story) and fundraiser (John F. Kennedy Center), dies at 87 [1]
Jerome Robbins (1918-1998)
1998-07-29 American Tony and Academy Award-winning theater and ballet choreographer and director (West Side Story; Peter Pan), dies shortly after suffering a strokeat 79
- 2005-09-14 Robert Wise, American Academy Award-winning film director (The Day the Earth Stood Still; West Side Story; The Sound Of Music), dies of heat failure at 91
- 2011-05-05 Arthur Laurents, American playwright (West Side Story: Gypsy), and screenwriter (Rope; Anastasia), dies at 93
- 2016-07-24 (Margaret) "Marni" Nixon [McEathron], American soprano singer and film 'ghost voice' (for Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady"; Natalie Wood in "West Side Story**"; Deborah Kerr in "The King And I"), dies at 86
- 2018-07-08 Alan Johnson, American Emmy Award-winning screen and stage choreographer (The Producers - "Springtime for Hitler"; Legs Diamond), director (To Be Or Not To Be), and dancer (West Side Story), dies at 81
- 2019-07-06 Martin Charnin, American Broadway stage singer, dancer (West Side Story), director, and lyricist (Annie), dies after a heart attack at 84
Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)
2021-11-26 American Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning theater composer and lyricist (West Side Story; Sunday in the Park With George; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; Gypsy), dies at 91 [1]
- 2024-01-30 Chita Rivera, American Tony Award-winning dancer, singer, and actress (West Side Story; Bye Bye Birdie; Sweet Charity; Chicago), dies at 91 [1] [2]