75 pages • 2 hours read
Arthur Laurents, Stephen SondheimWest Side Story
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Act I, Scenes 1-2
Reading Check
1. What does Anybodys want?
2. Who started the Jets?
3. Where does Riff live?
4. What literary device does the song “Something’s Coming” use?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Lieutenant Schrank tell the Jets to “make nice with them PRs”?
2. What is the message of the “Jet Song”?
3. How does Tony feel about the Jets?
Paired Resources
- Photos and explanatory captions provide a brief history of the neighborhood featured in West Side Story, from its settlement to the construction of the Lincoln Center, held by the Museum of the City of New York.
- Why are gang wars fought over territory?
“How Choreographer Justin Peck Helped Reimagine West Side Story for the 21st Century”
- Article that discusses changes to the original 1961 film’s choreography
- How do song and dance advance the story in a musical?
Act I, Scenes 3-5
Reading Check
1. What does Maria’s white dress symbolize?
2. Why did Bernardo bring his sister to America?
3. Who’s the “square”?
4. What do Riff and Bernardo agree to at the dance?
5.
