WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Timed for the 50th anniversary of the opening of “West Side Story” on Broadway, the North Carolina School of the Arts has announced that 50 numbered, limited-edition lithographs, signed by the artist and six key participants in the original production, are now available to the public.

 

Proceeds will benefit student scholarships at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

 

NCSA, America’s first public conservatory for the arts, mounted a critically acclaimed new production last spring to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “West Side Story.” The production was directed by NCSA School of Drama Dean Gerald Freedman, who was the assistant director of the original 1957 Broadway production (as conceived by Jerome Robbins) and co-director of the 1980 Broadway revival. The musical director for the NCSA production was none other than NCSA Chancellor John Mauceri, who worked closely with “West Side Story” composer Leonard Bernstein for 18 years – from 1972 until Bernstein’s death in 1990.

 

The NCSA “West Side Story” production grossed nearly $1 million during its two-week run at the Roger L. Stevens Center in Winston-Salem last May, and in June played at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.

 

In collaboration with NCSA’s production of the musical, a special day-long symposium on “West Side Story,” funded by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, was held on May 5 in Winston-Salem. Participants included Carol Lawrence (Maria), Mickey Callin (Riff), Grover Dale (Snow Boy), Sid Ramin (the co-orchestrator) and Dean Gerald Freedman (assistant director). Those five artists, and later Chita Rivera (Anita), signed the commemorative posters.

The lithograph, measuring 20” x 26”, is a striking visual image of a popular sneaker, a switchblade and a heart of red lipstick. Christopher Pullman, vice president for design at WGBH in Boston, based the image on a silk-screened poster he originally designed in 1972 for the Yale Symphony Orchestra, conducted by then-Yale faculty member John Mauceri. Pullman recreated his design elements for the NCSA production and donated the artwork to the School.

 

Now available exclusively through the North Carolina School of the Arts, these 50 signed, numbered, limited-edition lithographs can be purchased for $1,000 each, which is a tax-deductible contribution to NCSA.

 

In addition, 50 copies of the poster, signed by artist Pullman but not the original “West Side Story” collaborating artists, are also available for purchase for $100 each.

The poster can be purchased by calling NCSA’s advancement office at (336) 770-1437.

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