Interesting

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Arthur Laurents has said, “This is a story of love that cannot survive in a world of bigotry and violence.” The central love story is that of Tony and Maria; but Mr. Laurents says the entire production is motivated by love, beginning with the first scene between Tony and Riff. If Tony “loves him like a brother” and Riff is willing to die for him, their relationship must be carefully and organically established for the tragic story to work.

http://www.atlantaintownpaper.com/2011/01/theatre-review-west-side-story-at-the-fox/

Actor Paul Nolan, who played the part of Tony in a recent lauded production at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, commented on the need to make Tony believable as a gang member. As he says, "It was very important to me to portray Tony so that he was believable as the alpha - to go so far as to think of Tony as the leader of the gangs, the older brother figure to Riff. I wanted him to be tough; to have enough grit inside him that an audience would believe he "could" snap, leading him to kill Bernardo". Paul Nolan, interview with author Elizabeth Wells, August 21, 2009. West Side Story : Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical, pp. 185-186.