AUTHORS NOTE: You really have to have seen West Side Story to truly
understand everything that is going on in this story, but even if you
haven't, the story is fairly easy to follow. Basically, it's two warring
gangs who hate each other and two people from each gang that fall in love
even though it's "forbidden". So there you have the makings of a tragedy.
~CAST~
(None of these characters belong to me, they belong to the creators of both West Side Story and Newsies. I only WISH I owned them. lol.)
The Jets:
~ Jack Kelly: the leader of the Jets. (The West Side Story character of RIFF)
~ Mush: Jack's friend and lieutenant. (The WSS character of TONY)
~ Racetrack Higgins: Jack's friend, wants to be the next leader. (The WSS character of ACTION)
~ Kid Blink: (The WSS character of ARAB)
~ Crutchy: (The WSS character of BABY JOHN)
~ David Jacobs: (The WSS character of BIG DEAL)
~ Bumlets: (The WSS character of MOUTHPIECE)
~ Skittery: (The WSS character of TIGER)
The Sharks:
~ Spot Conlon: the leader of the Sharks. (The WSS character of BERNARDO)
~ Anita: Spot's girl
~ Maria: Spot's sister
~ Pepe: Spot's best friend, Maria's protector. (The WSS character of CHINO)
~ Various Sharks: Indio, Jake, Toro, Louis, Anxious, Nibbles.
The Adults:
Doc: Jack's boss, friend of the Jets who wants peace (played by Kloppman)
Lieutenant Shrank: A neighborhood policeman (played by Weasel)
Officer Krupke: Shrank's dumb sidekick (played by Morris Delancy)
Glad Hand: The guy who organizes the dances and parties for the youth of the city (played by Oscar Delancy)
Read on and venture into a world swimming with hatred and tragedy but penetrated by love. Will love win? Or will the hatred prevail?
****THE PROLOGUE****
No one seemed to know- or care- why the boys hated each other. It was just one of those facts of life that people had just come to accept and sometimes ignore. Maybe it was because there was nothing anyone could do. Maybe it was because they WANTED to be rid of the boys. Whatever the case, the feud was left to itself, and those involved were rarely crossed on the subject.
On the one side were the Jets, led by Jack Kelly. Handsome, fun-loving and cocky, Kelly didn't seem like the type that would hate- and kill. But all the same, that's what he was. How he BECAME a killer and a fierce leader was left to assumption, because he wouldn't talk about his past. Not even to his closest friends. That's just how he was. His friend Racetrack, on the other hand, had an unpredictable air about him, like he could go crazy at any minute. He and Jack were best friends, and had been for a long time. But nobody could replace Mush, and Race hated it.
On the other side of the feud were the Sharks. They were led by Spot Conlon: a fierce, unpredictable young man of 20 who had nerves and fists of steel. He was one to fear, and even his close friends could never really be safe. Not even Pepe. Spot held Pepe in the highest esteem; they were as close as brothers. But when Spot would lash out, he would go for anyone- and it didn't matter who.
Jack Kelly and Spot Conlon hated each other, and all of the kids in New York knew it. No one even dared to mention the names sometimes. That's how bad it was. Even the bulls knew it. They knew it well. Especially Lieutenant Shrank: a hard, experienced cop who refused to take any crap from either of the two gangs. He was forever trying to clean up his beat- the very piece of street that both gangs warred over- and had arrested many of the boys on more than one occasion. Today was one such occasion.
~CAST~
(None of these characters belong to me, they belong to the creators of both West Side Story and Newsies. I only WISH I owned them. lol.)
The Jets:
~ Jack Kelly: the leader of the Jets. (The West Side Story character of RIFF)
~ Mush: Jack's friend and lieutenant. (The WSS character of TONY)
~ Racetrack Higgins: Jack's friend, wants to be the next leader. (The WSS character of ACTION)
~ Kid Blink: (The WSS character of ARAB)
~ Crutchy: (The WSS character of BABY JOHN)
~ David Jacobs: (The WSS character of BIG DEAL)
~ Bumlets: (The WSS character of MOUTHPIECE)
~ Skittery: (The WSS character of TIGER)
The Sharks:
~ Spot Conlon: the leader of the Sharks. (The WSS character of BERNARDO)
~ Anita: Spot's girl
~ Maria: Spot's sister
~ Pepe: Spot's best friend, Maria's protector. (The WSS character of CHINO)
~ Various Sharks: Indio, Jake, Toro, Louis, Anxious, Nibbles.
The Adults:
Doc: Jack's boss, friend of the Jets who wants peace (played by Kloppman)
Lieutenant Shrank: A neighborhood policeman (played by Weasel)
Officer Krupke: Shrank's dumb sidekick (played by Morris Delancy)
Glad Hand: The guy who organizes the dances and parties for the youth of the city (played by Oscar Delancy)
Read on and venture into a world swimming with hatred and tragedy but penetrated by love. Will love win? Or will the hatred prevail?
****THE PROLOGUE****
No one seemed to know- or care- why the boys hated each other. It was just one of those facts of life that people had just come to accept and sometimes ignore. Maybe it was because there was nothing anyone could do. Maybe it was because they WANTED to be rid of the boys. Whatever the case, the feud was left to itself, and those involved were rarely crossed on the subject.
On the one side were the Jets, led by Jack Kelly. Handsome, fun-loving and cocky, Kelly didn't seem like the type that would hate- and kill. But all the same, that's what he was. How he BECAME a killer and a fierce leader was left to assumption, because he wouldn't talk about his past. Not even to his closest friends. That's just how he was. His friend Racetrack, on the other hand, had an unpredictable air about him, like he could go crazy at any minute. He and Jack were best friends, and had been for a long time. But nobody could replace Mush, and Race hated it.
On the other side of the feud were the Sharks. They were led by Spot Conlon: a fierce, unpredictable young man of 20 who had nerves and fists of steel. He was one to fear, and even his close friends could never really be safe. Not even Pepe. Spot held Pepe in the highest esteem; they were as close as brothers. But when Spot would lash out, he would go for anyone- and it didn't matter who.
Jack Kelly and Spot Conlon hated each other, and all of the kids in New York knew it. No one even dared to mention the names sometimes. That's how bad it was. Even the bulls knew it. They knew it well. Especially Lieutenant Shrank: a hard, experienced cop who refused to take any crap from either of the two gangs. He was forever trying to clean up his beat- the very piece of street that both gangs warred over- and had arrested many of the boys on more than one occasion. Today was one such occasion.