7. Autographed West Side Story Book
Peter Harrington Rare Books will have a wide selection of items at the fair, including this 1958 copy of A West Side Story signed by all four creators of the original musical: choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein, songwriter Stephen Sondheim, and playwright Arthur Laurents. No other book is known to contain all four signatures.
West Side Story is a quintessential New York tale. The play debuted on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre in September 1957. With more dancing than any previous Broadway production, the show won Robbins a Tony Award for Best Choreography. The original run lasted for 732 performances. This book was published by Random House as part of their series of “Recent Broadway Hits” six months after the Broadway premiere. This copy was owned by theatre and film critic for the Sunday Express, Clive Hirschhorn.
