In 1846, waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points. "Billy the Butcher" bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish gang "The Dead Rabbits," organized by Priest Vallon. After a bloody clash Vallon is dead, and his son Amsterdam Vallon ends up in a brutal reform school. In 1862, Amsterdam returns to seek vengeance against the man who killed his father.

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.

Set in 1980s New York City based on real events. Two immigrant brothers join the Green Dragons gang. They quickly rise up the ranks and become notorious in the community, drawing the attention of the NYPD's Detective Bloom. But when an ill-fated love affair pits one of the brothers against the gang's leader, he sets out for revenge on the group.