WEST SIDE, East Side…All around the world

The staying power of West Side Story, Part 1.

Now that West Side Story is about to resurface in the hands of director Steven Spielberg, I think it’s a good idea for me to honor its initial conception. So, please bear with me.

What was both controversial and explicitly dangerous sixty-six years ago, is often considered quaint by today’s standards. It will be interesting to see what new insight, if any, Spielberg’s collaboration with screenwriter Tony Kushner provides us. In my opinion, the musical has attained a kind of mythological status. I see very little to be revised. West Side Story will always be the brilliant product of its time. And, in the history of musical theatre, it ranks, more than any other original musical, as a perfect melding of music, text and dance. It’s important to remember that it’s an inherently theatrical piece. But, with Jerome Robbins at the helm of the film version (prior to his being let go, that is) along with veteran co-director, Robert Wise—all of the scarlet danger that brought West Side Story originally to the forefront of the theatre world would soon be seen in movie theaters at full throttle.

There’s a very interesting book out there that I’d like to call your attention to. A Place For Us: West Side Story and New York by Julia L. Foulkes. It’s a bit academic and thick going at times. But, Ms. Foulkes has brought enlightening focus on the piece in its historical context.

We have to remember that the creative team, Arthur Laurents as book writer, Leonard Bernstein as composer, Stephen Sondheim as lyricist, and most significantly, Jerome Robbins as choreographer/director and chief conceptualist were four gay Jewish men all of whom had experienced the upheaval that comes with social oppression. With the exception of Sondheim, all four were established artists in the early 1950s. West Side Story was on the back burner of development from the mid 1940s prior to garnering the potboiler attention it received that led up to its triumphant reveal in 1957.

It’s stood the test of time. Its craftsmanship still elicits the necessary emotional response when served well. Myths are rarely, if ever, quaint. In my categorizing West Side Story as myth, I mean to elevate it to the emotional response that myths provide us with. There’s catharsis to be found here—the key element to great tragedies. West Side Story is still able to reflect the social injustices that unfortunately seem to continue to plague us every decade.

And, speaking of West Side Story…
Could it be?
Yes…It could.
Something’s Coming.
Until that time…
Be Well…
And stay engaged.

Bye-bye for now.