[littleactorboy26]

I was wondering whats your favorite gang and why? Even though I was a Shark the Jets i think are soo much better they get to sing and dance alot more then the Shark guys do.

[CassaNoah]

I have to agree. It's Jets hands down. Not just because they have "better" stuff to do onstage, but also because of their role in the whole show. The audience is meant to be rooting for both Tony and Maria. Thusly, the audience connects with the Jet boys and the Shark girls. So, in a sense, the audience views the Shark boys (the rival gang) as a sort of "villain" of the show. Obviously there is some shared sympathy, but because we are exposed to the Jets more, they come off as more "fun and normal" than the Sharks, who remain largely a mystery.

I hope that was clear.

[littleactorboy26]

Another reason I like the Jets is because its the guys you see more and in the Sharks its the girls you see more.

[Newcomer]

I played Anybodys...so of course I have a Jet bias!

Well, actually, the Jets seem to have far more fully-developed characters than the Sharks, whose supporting gang members are given almost nothing to do. It is sort of unfair, actually, but that's the way the script is written...

[morning_glow21]

Jets!!

[_rumpleteaser_]

I have a shark bias. Even though the Jets do more in the show, I have to support my guys In my show the Sharks were better singers and dancers...

[Sean]

[_rumpleteaser_]

i agree it should be the other way around but i dont think anyone realized it was this way until halfway through rehearsals when we aquired more shark guys. i agree though it does sound a bit odd...

[Louis]

Jets, although I really do like the Sharks. They have less time, yeah. I like the Shark girls more, though! ^.^ Because they have more time on stage, I guess?

[aNGie_BaBY]

Go the ~J3tS~

Ok, sure I played a Jet girl, but come on they've got a theme song!
It's true the Shark girls get America, but the Jet Boys have got it all!

[WesleyBB]

Somewhat of an unfair comparison because the Jets have all the songs and lines.

[Triplethreat1187]

Definately the Jets!! I am biased because I played Big Deal in West Side Story and had the time of my life, but I would also have to agree that the Sharks get a bad rap...they are constantly seen as the 'villains' of the show, only they are no more guilty than the Jets...I think we all connect to the Jets because they are featured more than the Sharks are...they are the epitome of cool and I would have difficulty doing the show again if I was to play a Shark...also, 'Cool' and 'Gee, Officer Krupke' are two of the best numbers in the show...I love being a Jet!!

[CJK_86]

As the resident Baby John, I say definitely the Jets.

[act4ever]

I think that the audience gets to connect with the Jets more throughout the course of the show.

[Sigma the Enigma]

Well, on the one hand, the Jets get to do more, so from a performer's point of view, they're the better choice.

On the other hand, the Sharks kind of come off as the victims of racism a bit more and as somewhat nicer guys (considering they don't make a concerned effort to gang rape one of the female leads), so from an audience perspective (at least to me), the Sharks come off nicer than the Jets.

-Sigma

[Sharvak_Saelta]

Hmm. I don't honestly know. They're both really awesome! And the whole thing was about equality anywayses. Shark girls get America, but Jets get Cool. Sharks get to play off the best couple of the show, Anita (etcetera) and 'Nardo. Jets get a theme song. Sharks have better dancing. The Jets have Riff, a strong leader. And they both sing 'Tonight'. I can't pick!

[Quique]

It'll have to be the Jets for me. Although incredibly sugar-coated by the creators, you can't help but side with them after they get to do those trademark Jerome Robbins "jumps" during "Cool". Also "Officer Krupke" makes you forget the fact that they are horrendously violent thugs, hehehe! Hey, and who can beat having the hilarious, androgenous, but cute Anybody's on their side? She's one of my favorite characters in the show.

The Sharks are not necessarily victims of racism, but more like victims of general ignorance towards the culture at the time. Racism is a very powerful word and there really isn't anything incredibly offensive in the show, that addresses the Sharks or their culture. Even though I do kind of roll my eyes upon hearing the lyrics to the Sharks girl's version of "America". Talk about blatant stereotype, in the name of patriotism, hehehe. That numbers saving grace, was that it was not really to be taken too seriously, and it was more than obviously a way to mock Rosalia rather than Puerto Rico. Besides, it's an amazing showstopper!

Sure the Jets are more witty, silly, layed-back, they get more lines and dance numbers and they have girls who sit and look pretty and prissy. The general false perception of foreigners, was that they aren't very bright, so the writers probably felt awkward giving the Sharks smart, witty lines. Remember, we are talking about an era that thought all Spanish-speaking folks spoke with accents, haha. Accents plus wit, in America, don't mix. Whether it be a Russian, Austrailian, Puerto Rican, Japanese or German, it didn't matter. Notice how all foreigners or those from distict cultures were almost always portrayed as simple-minded. The Sharks guys don't say much more than a badly-spoken English word or grunt and look menacing.

The Jets are always seen hopping through the streets with a look of the boy next door, sweeping gracefully down the pavement until those darn Sharks show-up, hehe. Yeah, they murdered a Shark, tried to rape one while being untolerant of her differences and still manage to be thoroughly liked. I think the Shark girls, especially Anita provide just the right balance of wit, charm and normacy to keep audiences from being fooled into liking the Jets. The ending with it's powerful message delivered at the price of tragedy, clearly spells-out how petty ignorance could really ultimately conquer love. A notable accomplishment in the face of nothing, at all.

Is it just me, but don't a lot of the Sharks (and some Jets) in the movie version, just seem to scream-out......RICHARD SIMMONS! Uh..though, not with their voices, but their mannerisms, LOL!

[turkeyHONK!]

I must say Jets. Although I was not a Jet, I should have been. I am as pale as can be. Spray-on tanning was...fun . The Jets get so many numbers to themselves. Oh yeah, the worst part about it was that people who looked the most Spanish got cast as Jets because they were seniors, and I was only a freshman. Oh well.

[Brittannie06]

JETS ALL THE WAY! Even though I am currently in rehearsals playing Maria, a "Shark," I do believe that the Jets steal the show, and in the case of my show, the Jets are definitely some of the most talented people in the show! As far as girls in gangs go, the Shark girls definitely have a lot more to do than Jet girls, so in that case, the Shark girls are better than the Jet girls.

[Courfeyrac]

Shark lover right here! There's just something about them I can't help but be drawn to... And since I got the part of Anita, I'm kind of obliged.

[Salome]

it depends on which version of America you option..I prefer the Anita/Bernardo version. it was introduced in the film and has been availiable to substitute if you inquire.

without it Bernardo is the only one of the 5 principals that does not get to express himself in song.

it also provides a good moment between anita and Nardo and the shark guys and gals.

[MBoy]

Jets all the freakin' way! Their parts are SOOOO much better!!

[Courfeyrac]

[quote="Salome"]it depends on which version of America you option..I prefer the Anita/Bernardo version. it was introduced in the film and has been availiable to substitute if you inquire.

without it Bernardo is the only one of the 5 principals that does not get to express himself in song.

it also provides a good moment between anita and Nardo and the shark guys and gals.[/quote]

Agreed. Besides, I think dancing in 'America' is much cooler when it's guy/girl. Not so much with all girls, you know?

I'm pushing for my company to do 'America' this way, but I think we're just gonna go by the book...

[broadwaybound11]

Gotta go with the Jets on this one. They are so much more human. The audience gets to see the family bonds they have with each other. They fight as a family, they fool around as a family, and they mourn as a family. The Sharks probably do to, but we don't get to see it... and that's what counts, isn't it?

[missdiva]

Definately the Jets. The audience is able to identify with them more, and they're just fantastic.

[jet_girl]

Jets!!!
People say the shark girls are better, but our cool dance was better than america, and we learnt the cool dance the day before the first performance, the jets were better singers, and dancers. The jet girls had way more attitude, and were so much better than the shark girls.

[Kaiana]

I liked the Sharks better. I felt a lot more sympathy for them than for the Jets. The Sharks just seemed more honest somehow, like Bernando said the Jets attacked him when he first came to America.

[RainbowJude]

My favourite gang is the Jets. But that is mainly because the show makes it so easy to like them; the Sharks are (typically of much literature of the period) pushed to the margins of the society and not represented as well as they could be.

Substituting the film version of "America" does not helps much in this respect. The moments that the song adds for the Shark Boys disrupt the balance of the show. Bernardo is not a principle role and he does not need his own song. There are four principals in West Side Story: Tony, Maria, Riff and Anita.

The structure of the show is around Maria and Tony and their primary counterparts are not Riff and Bernardo (as gang leaders) but Riff and Anita (as confidantes to Maria and Tony). Bernardo, Chino and the rest of the sharks are supporting characters, like Baby John Arab and the rest of the Jets.

Later days
David

[Zines]

Jets all the way. More danceing/singing. Also in the stage production the guy sharks dont really have there own song they sing with others. While the jets have many songs of their own.

[eagil]

Jets. I'm rather familiar with everyone in the gang now, and I only know 2 of the sharks. I agree with others that it's the Jet boys and the Shark girls you see more of.

-Tani