75 pages • 2 hours read
Arthur Laurents, Stephen SondheimWest Side Story
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Act IIChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act II Summary
At the beginning of Act II, Consuela, Rosalia, and Francisca wait in Maria’s bedroom as Maria dresses up. Maria confides in the girls that there isn’t going to be a rumble and that tonight is her wedding night. Maria is giddy, and her friends tease her, calling her “out of her mind” (79). Maria sings “I Feel Pretty” about her joyous mood, declaring, “I feel stunning and entrancing–feel like running and dancing for joy, for I’m loved by a pretty wonderful boy!” (80). The girls sing, claiming, “she isn’t in love, she’s merely insane” (80). But Maria’s happiness is infectious, and the girls join in. After the song, Chino calls up to Maria, and Rosalia refers to him as “the happy bridegroom” (83). The girls meet Chino in the parlor, and Maria notices that Chino looks like he has been in a fight. Chino admits that he has. He tells Maria that the rumble happened and that there was a knife. Maria cuts him off, asking, “Tony. What happened to Tony?” (86). Angrily, Chino snaps, “He killed your brother” (86). As he leaves, Chino finds an object, wrapped in Bernardo’s shirt.
