“A Place for Us” by Julia L. Foulkes
A Place for Us examines the broad appeal and ongoing relevance of West Side Story, which has become emblematic of the best of Hollywood and Broadway. The creators dropped Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet in the midst of 1950’s New York, turning a tragic love story into a tale about wayward youth, prejudice, and a rapidly changing city. West Side Story is about the struggle to find one’s place in the world and how dancing on city streets can embody that quest.