who falls in love with maria in west side story
Maria (West Side Story) Maria is in her late teens when she arrives on the US mainland. Her older brother Bernardo is the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. He has a girlfriend, Anita, who Maria is friends with and looks up to. Maria is eager to start a new life in New York, but Bernardo is protective and keeps a close eye on her. He intends for Maria to marry his friend Chino, but Maria is uninterested. She meets Tony who used to be part of the Sharks’ enemy gang, the Jets, at a community dance at the gym. They immediately fall in love. The couple meet several times after (on her balcony, at Anita’s shop, and at Doc’s, Tony’s workplace) before deciding to run away together after the rumble. They are about to leave when Chino shoots Tony for killing Bernardo. Whatever happens to Maria after Tony dies is left a mystery.
West Side Story 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 the Lincoln Center, which changed the neighborhood's character).[2][3] The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang.[4] 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 dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in American musical theatre. Bernstein's score for the musical includes "Something's Coming", "Maria", "America", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "Jet Song", "I Feel Pretty", "A Boy Like That", "One Hand, One Heart", "Gee, Officer Krupke", and "Cool".