Fifty-two years after its opening, West Side Story still resonates with audiences. Over the years, there have been changes in this retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by author Arthur Laurents and composer Leonard Bernstein, set in the rough Hell’s Kitchen section of 1950s Manhattan. The show’s original concept was a love story between a young Italian Catholic boy and a Jewish girl; one working title was East Side Story. The idea evolved into a hard, uncompromising look at gang warfare and racial tension between the white boys of the Jets and the Puerto Rican boys of the Sharks, who resort to a “rumble” for turf domination.

In a music-filled lecture, Jesse Parker illuminates the creative process that went into the making of the musical and explores the various performance approaches—including the multilingual version now playing on Broadway.

Tonight won’t be just any night if you linger a little to sing a song or two from the show!

Parker is the founder, conductor, and music director of Voices 21, artistic director of The Chesapeake Chorale, and music director of Chevy Chase United Methodist Church.