The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
