Chita Rivera

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Synopsis

Act One

Chita plays Anita, friend of the heroine, Maria, and girlfriend of Maria's brother Bernardo. The beautifully crafted role allows Chita to demonstrate her range as a dancer-singer in Act One, and as a singer-dramatic actress in Act Two.

The play opens with a danced Prologue in which the two rival teenage gangs, the Jets and the Sharks enact their conflict over who will control the neighborhood.

Following a brief exchange with the ineffective policeman, Lt. Schrank and Officer Krupke, Riff, the leader of the Jets, the Anglo gang, devises a plan to gain control of the street (When You're A Jet").

Riff wants his best friend Tony to re-join the gang. Riff convinces Tony to join the Jets at the neighborhood dance. Tony agrees out of a sense of loyalty to Riff, but explains that he feels himself growing away from the gang and envisions a different and better future ("Something's Coming").

Maria works with Anita (Chita) in a dress shop. Anita, who is Bernardo's girl friend, is making Maria a dress to wear to the neighborhood dance. Maria, who has only recently arrived from Puero Rico, sees this dance as the official beginning of her life in America. Like Tony, she is full of hope. Her brother Bernardo, who is the leader of the Sharks, arrives with Chino. Maria's family has selected Chino to be her future husband.

At the dance, a social worker, Gladhand, introduces the rival gang members and their girls, but the kids pair off along ethnic lines anyway. The evening erupts into a spirited challenge dance, but once Tony and Maria spot each other, like Romeo and Juliet, they are transported into a moment of romantic suspension. They dance together, oblivious of the tension around them. The romantic idyll is interrupted when Bernardo roughly pulls his sister from Tony's arms. Maria is sent home, as Riff and Bernardo arrange a war council at the drugstore.

Unaware of the plan between the two leaders, an ecstatic Tony sings "Maria." As he sings, Maria appears on a fire escape above him. They profess their love for each other ("Tonight").

Anita and her friends are gathered on a city rooftop, where they express conflicting views about their lives in New York City. Chita and the girls sing "America," stopping the show cold and establishing a Chita Rivera signature song.

At the Drugstore, the proprietor, Doc, tries to convince the Jets not to have a rumble with the Sharks. The gang expresses their pent-up tension in "Cool." A rumble is arranged for the next day.

The next day, Maria learns about the rumble from Anita at the dress shop. When Tony arrives, Anita leaves. Maria begs Tony to stop the rumble and he promises her he will. They enact a mock marriage ceremony ("One Hand, One Heart") prophetically swearing that "even death can't part us now."

Tony tries to stop the rumble in progress under a highway. In the midst of insults, pushing, and shoving, Bernardo stabs Riff. In blind fury, Tony stabs Bernardo. The kids flee. The curtain comes down on a stage, empty except for the bodies of Riff and Bernardo.

Act Two

Unaware of the tragedy that has occurred, Maria sings to her girl friends about how beautiful she feels ("I Feel Pretty"). She speaks of marriage, and her friends assume she is thinking about Chino. Chino enters with the news Tony has killed Bernardo. Left alone, Maria is praying; Tony enters through the window. He explains that he killed Bernardo in a moment of anger over Riff's death. Maria forgives him, and they declare their determination to be together. Shark and Jet couples dance together in a dream-like, peaceful, sunlit world - the "Somewhere." At the end of the dream, Tony and Maria are in her bed, in each other's arms.

In an alley, the bumbling Office Krupke is questioning the Jets about the murders. The gang ridicules him as they sing "Officer Krupke," a put-down of ineffectual social workers, cops, psychiatrists, and judges.

From this point, Chita figures importantly in the events leading up to the climax of the play. As Anita arrives at Maria's apartment, Tony escapes through the window, telling Maria to meet him at the drugstore so they can run away together. Anita realizes Tony has been with Maria and berates her for making love to the boy who killed her brother ("A Boy Like That"). When Maria explains ("I Have a Love"), Anita understands that Maria loves Tony as much as she loved Bernardo. Anita warns Maria that Chino has a gun and is planning to kill Tony. When Shrank arrives to question Maria, Anita agrees to go to the drugstore to tell Tony to wait for her.

Anita is prevented from reaching Tony by the Jets. The gang's verbal taunting of Anita gets physical and is turning into rape when she is saved by Doc. In her fury and humiliation, Anita lies and tells Tony's friends that Chino has killed Maria. Doc reports the news to Tony, who is hiding in his cellar. Tony runs out to find Chino. On the street, Tony sees Maria. Chino appears and kills Tony. As Maria kneels over Tony's body, the Jets and Sharks enter. Maria takes Chino's gun, but is unable to bring herself to shoot.

Gradually, members of both gangs assemble on either side of Tony's body. Maria kisses him. The Jets and Sharks form a procession and together they carry Tony offstage while the adults stand by, still helpless. The lights fade.