Tony (Richard Beymer)’s Timeline and Summary
- Tony's stacking boxes behind Doc's drugstore when Riff approaches him, asking him to cover for the Jets at the dance. Tony agrees, then sings a song about something awesome maybe being at the dance for him.
- Turns out he's right. He meets Maria, the world falls away and he only has eyes for her.
- He wanders home in a daze, literally singing her name over and over. Our boy's got it bad.
- He shows up at her bedroom window – gee, we wonder where they got that idea – and begs her to come down to him from the fire escape.
- She tries to talk him out of it, but their passion is just too much. Cue the greatest romantic musical duet in the history of everything ("Tonight").
- They finally say good night, promising to meet the next night at the Bridal shop where Maria works.
- Tony arrives late at Doc's for the war council, and calls the lot of them chicken.
- He manages to talk the sides down to a fistfight between the best Jet and the best Shark.
- He confesses to Doc that he's in love. Doc really doesn't think that falling in love is a good idea, but Tony's too jazzed to care.
- The next evening, he meets Maria at the bridal shop. Anita is there too and tries to warn them against seeing each other.
- Tony doesn't want to go to the rumble, but Maria begs him to go and stop it. He agrees for her sake.
- The rumble begins. Tony arrives to try and stop Bernardo and Ice from fighting.
- Bernardo, who really wanted to fight Tony for the whole you love my sister" thing, tries to goad him into fighting.
- Tony backs down, and Riff steps in.
- Knives flash. Riff and Bernardo mean it. Tony tries to talk them down, but Bernardo stabs Riff.
- Enraged, Tony stabs Bernardo.
- Tony leaves reluctantly after weeping over Bernardo's body and goes to Maria to explain what happened.
- He wants to go to the police, but she forbids him, and they sing about finding a way to escape somehow, and they, ahem, knock boots.
- He slips out the next morning when Anita arrives home. Maria promises to meet him at the bus station, where they can go far away.
- The Jets meet Tony and keep him in the basement at Doc's to keep him safe from the police (and leaving him clueless when Anita comes with a warning and almost gets raped).
- Doc tells Tony Anita's lie – that Maria is dead – and he runs out into the streets.
- He calls out for Chino, asking him to kill him too… just as Maria arrives to confirm that she's not dead.
- Chino shoots Tony in the back, and he dies in Maria's arms.