“West Side Story” opened on Broadway on September 26, 1957. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Google Arts & Culture is presenting a virtual exhibition that explains its history, profiles its makers, assesses its impact, and showers us with imagery (some of it digitized for the first time).The online collection was created in partnership with Carnegie Hall, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Museum of the City of New York, and the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Below is a glimpse (Click on any photograph to read the captions supplied by Google.). Check out Google Arts and Culture’s whole West Side Story exhibition.

Excited crowds gathered outside the Erlanger Theatre in Philadelphia to see “West Side Story,” during its two week out-of-town tryout before it opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, 1957. Stephen Sondheim on piano and Leonard Bernstein standing amongst female singers rehearsing for “West Side Story.” The Prologue sequence lasted twice as long on screen as on stage. The magic of cinema blended locations on the Upper West Side and East Harlem (where the playground scenes were shot). In 1959, photographer Bruce Davidson observed and photographed a teenage gang in Brooklyn, New York, capturing the spirit of post-war youth culture that inspired the rival gangs of “West Side Story.” This photo is one is called “Man in sunglasses smoking.” Natalie Wood (pictured at piano with Jerome Robbins) was the last principal cast in the movie. She recorded Maria’s songs, but ultimately her singing was dubbed by an uncredited Marni Nixon. Larry Kept (right), 1930 – 1991 Leonard Bernstein’s personal annotated copy of “Romeo and Juliet.” He made several notes for adapting Shakespeare’s play into a contemporary musical. From March 4–6, 2016, three extraordinary performances of “West Side Story” were presented at the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens. The production brought together high school–aged apprentice performers joining the cast, and a 200-voice youth choir adding a new dimension to Leonard Bernstein’s iconic score.

A 360-video of “Cool”, one of the most popular songs of the musical, performed at the Knockdown Center in Queens, NY as part of Carnegie Hall’s, The Somewhere Project.

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