West Side Story: Birth Of A Classic
June 8, 2009
Filed under Music
I discovered a wonderful online exhibition that I know you will enjoy experiencing. It is The Library Of Congress cyber-exhibit : West Side Story: Birth Of A Classic. I`m more familiar with the 1961 movie, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Bremmer. I have never actually seen West Side Story in a musical format, I`m sorry to say. I feel very comfortable with the music however, composed by Leonard Bernstein. An acquaintance from the music scene, Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks, use to do a nice cabaret arrangement of “America.” Some would probably argue that West Side Story is the greatest Broadway musical ever produced. It would be hard to counter this argument.
This online exhibit is broken up into four sections: Birth Of A Musical, On ‘The Rumble’ and ‘Somewhere,’ Letters From Bernstein, and The Legacy of West Side Story. This last section tells you that the musical as a form was transformed by this new production. This is because of the careful integration of script, song, dance, and sets into a whole. Initially, in September of 1957, it experienced only a modest success. The 1961 movie, however, is what catapulted it to its current glorious heights.
Did you know that the story is based on Shakespeare`s “Romeo and Juliet?” Bernstein took the play and converted it into a musical; the Birth Of A Musical section shows you the evolution of this process with his notes. Also, there are more than 250 domestic productions of this show each year. PBS has a documentary of Leonard Bernstein`s own recording of the score on its “Great Performances.” And did you know of the existence of Punk Side Story? Why does this musical have so much appeal anyway? Lay some theories on me people! And do you think museums are moving to the internet exclusively now?
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