If you are studying the 1961 film of West Side Story with your LLCER 1ère students, our Reading Guide will help them analyse key scenes, explore the background and inspiration to the work, and different iterations of this story of star-crossed lovers. West Side Story is a 20th century retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set … Continue reading “Our West Side Story Reading Guide Has Arrived”
Chita Rivera, a Broadway icon, has died age 91. Her first major role was originating the character of Anita in the original stage production of West Side Story in 1957. She was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C., in 1993 to a Puerto Rican father and a mother with Scottish-Irish origins. (Not … Continue reading “West Side Story Legend Dies”
The West Side Story production that has just finished in Paris will be touring to Bordeaux, Lyons, Rouen and Nantes in February and March. A full stage production, it is in English with French surtitles. The musical comedy by Bernstein, Sondheim and Robbins is a reworking of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with the Capulets and … Continue reading “West Side Story on Tour Around France”
There are a few changes in the LLCER 1ère set texts list for 2023-2026 and lots of you have been asking if we are going to publish a Reading Guide for Fahrenheit 451. The answer is yes, and we’re also going to publish our first Film Guide for 1ère: West Side Story. The updated list … Continue reading “LLCER Update and Two Upcoming Reading Guides”
West Side Story will return to Châtelet in Paris this autumn. Reservations are now open for schools performances and workshops. The musical comedy by Bernstein, Sondheim and Robbins is a reworking of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with the Capulets and Montagues being replaced by rival gangs in New York. Reservations are now open for a … Continue reading “Save the Date: West Side Story on Stage”
Our challenge last year was to get 4e students interested in musicals! As we couldn’t take them abroad on an exchange, we felt like taking “a bit of abroad” to them, through musicals. You can read what we planned to do here, and below you’ll find our conclusions about what worked and what didn’t. Though … Continue reading “Assessing musicals with 4e euro”
The 2022 Oscar ceremony was memorable… But what about the winning films? Several of our favourite films of the last year came away with awards. And CODA beat off some favourites to take Best Picture. New Zealand director Jane Campion was the first woman to be nominated twice for Best Director, and this time she … Continue reading “And the Oscar Winners Are…”
Working on musicals from the 1950s to today with 4e euro classes? Well… Why not after all?! Catching fourteen-year-olds’ attention when dealing with musicals from the 1950s may sound like a challenge but this is the very idea! In fact, it all started when we – a colleague and myself – realised that we wouldn’t … Continue reading “Discovering musicals with 4e euro”
Sixty years after Robert Wise’s award-winning movie, Steven Spielberg’s much awaited remake of West Side Story aims at a much more authentic portrayal of the Puerto Rican protagonists in this Romeo and Juliet-inspired tale of star-crossed lovers in NYC. We here offer one worksheet but two articles of different levels (B1, B2) so you can … Continue reading “West Side Story 2021”
West Side Story – the stage musical and the film – is already a classic. Steven Spielberg wants to make it a more authentic classic for the 21st century. After many delays due to COVID, it’s finally arriving in cinemas. The Bernstein-Sondheim musical was an immediate hit on Broadway in 1957. When Robert Wise adapted … Continue reading ““West Side Story” is Back!”
