This musical sets the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the rivalry of two street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, in New York of the 1950s. A young woman who is sister to the Sharks leader has her first taste of love with the former head of the Jets.
When he overhears a doctor discussing the imminent death of a patient, hypochondriac George believes the doctor is referring to him. Convinced he's living on borrowed time, he enlists his best friend Arnold to help him find a new husband for his soon-to-be-widowed wife Judy.
