Oh moon, grow bright, And make this endless day endless night! The Puerto Rican Sharks are played by Latino actors, which is a relief; we are far from the miserable days of brownface. . And what role are you auditioning for? The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. MARIA Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight. After another brawl with the Sharks at the playground (Jets' turf), and Schrank's admonition to the Jets to stop making trouble, Riff declares that the Jets are going to settle against the Sharks with a winner-take-all rumble. Tony again tries to stop the fight, pulling Riff away as he is about to finally stab Bernardo in the back, but Riff breaks away and charges again, only to be stabbed in the ribs by Bernardo, and Riff falls dead. We're gonna rock it tonight. Copyright renewed.Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Company LLC, Publisher. We'll have our private little mix Tonight. You're home with your own— When company's expected, You're well protected! Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip and the author of The Thespian’s Bucket List and 1001 Cast Albums to Listen to in Your Lifetime. See more characters from Arthur Laurents Leonard Bernstein Stephen Sondheim. And even if it’s not requested, it’s generally assumed. The Jets are gonna have their way, The Jets are gonna have their day. RIFF Womb to tomb! West Side Story Audition Preparation Materials : List of Songs in West Side Story (Click the song title to download digital sheet music) West Side Story - Brief history of the musical; West Side Story (1961) - Review of the 1961 film adaptation of the classic Broadway musical. Changing the tone of the song, which is performed here with spitting fury, would have been enough. In addition, there is a classic and cool vibe to many of the songs below in order to match the style of the show. And we're gonna beatEvery last buggin' gangOn the whole buggin' street!On the whole—!Ever—!Mother—!Lovin'—!Street! But little does Riff (or anyone else) realize that his unwavering resolve will culminate in death- his own, and the subsequent death of his best friend Tony. Wonderful” – Mr. “Who asked you to come here?” Riff says to Bernardo; Bernardo’s retort—“Who asked you?”—has a bitter, unintended irony in the context of African-American history. To revisit this article, select My⁠ ⁠Account, then View saved stories. - Riff. RIFF AND JETS Well, they began it! So here’s our list of audition songs for West Side Story, broken down by character. The play, loosely updated to the present, opens in moody silence, as a line of young men files onto the vast, naked stage. https://westsidestory.fandom.com/wiki/Riff?oldid=4921. Top Ten Songs from West Side Story West Side Story is a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in an Upper West Side neighborhood of the 1950s. As a theatrical device, it is a ludicrous waste, verging on an insult to the actors, who can’t hope to compete with the billboard-size versions of themselves that loom over their heads. The critique has been right there on the surface all along. He wants to make us see an iconic work with new eyes, but all we can see is him. With apologies to Cook, that may have been a stroke of luck, since it’s more conceivable that white street kids would pay allegiance to a black leader—there’s that haunted idea of American “cool” again, inextricable from white obsession with African-American culture—than the other way around. This is all the more disappointing because they are a gorgeous cast, youthful, fresh—more than thirty actors are making their Broadway débuts—and physically spectacular, especially in Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s choreography, which, with its sharply thrown elbows and triangular formations, closes the gap between modernist constructivism and TikTok preening. ALL (male) Jets (including Tony), ALL (male) Sharks JET SONG Riff, Action, Baby John, A-Rab, Big-Deal, ALL (male) Jets SOMETHING'S COMING Tony THE DANCE AT THE GYM ALL (male & female) Jets, ALL (male & female) Sharks (PROMENADE) ALL (male & female) Jets, ALL (male & female) Sharks They are in street wear, immaculate sneakers and glossy track jackets, sweatsuits, and beanies (An D’Huys did the appealing costume design); they have branded their necks with tattoos reading “Jet for Life.” Another line of boys appears, edgy and coiled—the Sharks—and a fight breaks out. We'll stop 'em once and for all. In casting calls, they often ask for you to be “familiar with the show”.