The write-ups in this node are fair, however, they fail to adequately point out the
genius present in this musical.
West Side Story is considered by many to the the best musical ever created.
Not one of the best--the best. Interestingly, it is also considered one of the
hardest to perform. I'll explain why throughout this write up.
To anyone with knowledge of popular musicians, this musical's success is
no surprise. Based on a novel by Arthur Laurents, West Side Story's music was written by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics
by Stephen Sondheim. In the music world, the previous sentence could be
written 'music by god, lyrics by Jesus'-- both men are considered
absolute masters of their art.
The product of their collaboration is remarkable. West Side Story has not just an
incredible score, (the music played by an orchestra during the play), but also
phenomenal lyrics.
Score
At all times in the play, Bernstein's music is fascinating. In the entire work,
I cannot find one measure of uninteresting content. Bernstein holds the audience's
attention through rhythmic changes, modulations (changing the key of a piece in the
middle of it), and beautiful melodies. In fact, every melody is a fresh idea,
sounding nothing like anything you've heard before. Bernstein consistently employs
creative intervals, the distances between notes sung, to give his work a unique
sound.
Lyrics
Anyone who's seen or heard West Side Story performed can vouch for the brilliance
of Sondheim's lyrics. I recommend clicking through some of the soft-links at the bottom
of this node and checking them out. My personal favorites are Jet Song and America
(karmaflux's w/u).
I mentioned earlier that West Side Story is considered one of the most difficult shows
to put on. There are two primary aspects that make this show difficult.
Tough Songs
Ironically, Bernstein's ability to create unique melodies also makes his work
difficult to perform. Singing the tough intervals Bernstein loves can be quite
strenuous for the performer. Bernstein gives his singers few places where they
can simply sing on auto-pilot. Additionally, the same rhythms that make a song
fascinating make it hard to sing. A singer performing West Side Story must
always keep one ear tuned to the
orchestra. One good example of the difficulty of WSS is in Officer Krupke,
a Jet song. In this song, there are more than four key changes.
For the uninformed, that's
a lot of times to adapt to a new a key.
For the non-musically-inclined, changing keys is like changing the number of
spaces
you indent when writing code. Sure, it's really just a syntactic change, not
that hard, but can be a
tad tricky to get used to.)
VERY Tough Choreography
West Side Story calls for a huge amount of dancing. The work has
seventeen different
numbers with seven of those being major dance scenes. In every production of this
musical, enormous amounts of time are set aside for teaching the choreography for the
Dance at the Gym and Cool. The amount of dance required for these scenes is
ridiculous. I've been in productions where several, full, four-hour rehearsals
were dedicated simply to learning Dance at the Gym. If you haven't seen WSS, grab
a video copy of it and you'll see what I mean. For those without the motivation,
imagine about 50 people doing synchronized dance moves in varying styles and rhythms,
throw in a mambo competition, some Jitterbug, and a ballet sequence and you're almost
there. Mix in some dialog and crucial cues and blocking that CANNOT be messed up at
the cost of the audience not understanding the show, and you've pretty much got it.
That's just one scene, folks.
Another song, Cool, has a dance break that is nearly four minutes long. That's a
long dance break. On top of that, to match the mood of the music,
the dancing must be as
intense and frenetic as possible.
While West Side Story has always been a popular show, it was certainly not a
(excuse the cliche) household name. That is, until 1961, when it was re-shot in movie
form. The production was phenomenal and quickly earned the recognition it clearly
deserved. The movie was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won ten: Best
Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best
Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Sets, Best Sound, Best Scoring
Musical, Best Editing, and Best Costumes. Damn impressive if you ask me.
West Side Story is simply a phenomenal musical. With music, lyrics,
and choreography that are practically unmatched by any other work, it has secured
a place in history, unlikely to be usurped for decades to come. If you get a chance
to see it, go!
Brief plot summary:
West Side Story opens with a danced Prologue indicating the bitter tensions between the Jets, a self-styled "American" street gang, and the Sharks, a group of young Puerto Ricans. The leader of the Jets, Riff swears to
drive the Sharks, led by Bernardo, from the streets (Jet Song). Riff determines to challenge Bernardo that night at a dance in the gym, and prevails upon his old friend and the co-founder of the Jets, Tony, to help him. Tony
has been growing away from the gang, and feels the stirrings of other emotions (Something's Coming) but agrees.
Bernardo's sister Maria, newly arrived from Puerto Rico to marry his friend Chino, attends the dance (The Dance at the Gym) and despite the obvious hatred between the gangs meets Tony, who at once falls in love with her
(Maria). Later, after the dance, while the gangs begin to assemble at Doc's drugstore to choose a place and weapons for their rumble - a gang fight - Tony visits Maria on the fire escape of her apartment, and they pledge
their love (Tonight), promising to meet the next afternoon at the bridal shop where Maria works. As he departs, the Sharks take their girls home and go off to the drugstore, while a playful argument develops between
Anita and two homesick Puerto Rican girls over the relative merits of life back home and in Manhattan (America).
At the drugstore, the Jets are nervous about the approaching meeting with the Sharks, but Riff advises them to play it cool (Cool), and when the Sharks arrive, an agreement is reached, at Tony's insistence, to have a fair,
bare-handed fight between the two best fighters in each gang the next night, under the highway. Next day, Tony visits Maria at the shop and among the clothing dummies they enact a touching wedding ceremony (One
Hand, One Heart). Maria makes him promise to stop the fight between his gang and her brother's. In the quintet Tonight, Tony and Maria sing of their love, Anita makes plans for a big evening, and Bernardo and Riff and
their gangs make their own plans for the rumble.
In a deserted area under the highway, the gangs meet for the fight. As it is about to get under way, Tony hurries in, and begs them to stop, as he has promised Maria. Bernardo, enraged that Tony has been making advances to
his sister, pushes him back furiously. Suddenly switch-blade knives appear, and Riff and Bernardo begin to fight (The Rumble). In the ensuing action, Riff is knifed, and Tony, grabbing his weapon, in turn knifes Bernardo.
Frenzied, the gangs join battle, until they are interrupted by a police whistle. They flee, leaving behind the bodies of Riff and Bernardo.
In her room, Maria is gaily preparing for her meeting with Tony (I Feel Pretty). She is unaware of what has happened, until Chino bursts into her room and tells her that her brother has been killed by her lover. Seizing a
gun, he rushes out in search of Tony. Tony, however, has climbed the fire escape to Maria's room, and in spite of her grief she is unable to send him away. Clinging together desperately they envision a place where they can be
free from prejudice (Somewhere). In the streets and alleys the gangs flee the police, panic-stricken by the killings. Two of the Jets, Action and Snowboy, have already been questioned, and they explain to the rest of them
how to handle the adults (Gee, Officer Krupke!).
The sorrowing Anita knocks at Maria's door, and Tony leaves by the window, taking refuge in the basement of Doc's drugstore. Anita upbraids Maria for allowing Tony to come near her (A Boy Like That), but Maria's
answer (I Have a Love) carries its irrefutable force, and at length Anita agrees to go warn Tony that Chino is gunning for him. She goes to the drugstore, but is brutally taunted by the Jets for her nationality, and finally in
hysteria spits out a different message for Tony: that Chino has killed Maria in revenge.
Doc tells Tony what Anita has said, and Tony leaves his hiding place, wandering numbly on the streets. At midnight, he runs into Maria, who has been searching for him, but their moment is brief: Chino appears from
behind a building and shoots Tony dead. Overcome with grief, Maria takes hold of the gun and points it at members of the gang, but cannot bring herself to pull the trigger. Stunned and remorseful, both gangs agree to
declare a truce and they unite to carry Tony's body away (Somewhere).