West Side History

This is the 50th anniversary of the film West Side Story.  In 1961 when I was a freshman in high school this brilliant movie hit the country like a meteor.  With a seemingly endless collection of great songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim and a new style of daring and exciting choreography by Jerome Robbins, all in service of a classic romantic tragedy with Shakespearean roots, West Side Story pushed the national artistic vision into the future.

To celebrate this half century anniversary the Hollywood Bowl and L. A. Philharmonic presented a hybrid version of the film this weekend--a live orchestra to play Bernstein's brilliant score and the film itself on a big screen for the original vocals by Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, Richard Beymer and the incredible ensemble of singers and dancers who are the real stars of the film.    I hadn't seen West Side Story in many years, and my memory was a little fuzzy.  The individual songs are of course unforgettable--Maria, Tonight, Somewhere, Officer Krupke, Life in America, I Feel Pretty, Cool, the Jets' theme song, etc.  These we hear in many versions in many settings, and it was awesome to hear them one after another in the film.

But I hadn't remembered as clearly the brilliance of the orchestral parts that underscore and amplify the action.   Bernstein's music is a muscular combination of romantic drama and near-dissonance that pulls us inexorably into the tragedy that unfolds on the streets and alleys of New York.

And then there's the dancing--bold, daring, aggressive, it propels the action deeper and deeper into a realm of myth and legend.  Robbins draws on the raw energy of youth found in the dense urban environment, harnessing it to serve the ageless story of a passionate love that defies all social norms.  At the same time he ennobles the rivalries and struggles for survival that motivate the players in this drama.

After fifty years and many losses of innocence, some of the dialogue and situations seem a little corny or dated, but the core contradiction facing the Puerto Ricans seems spot on as immigrants today weigh the opportunities offered in the US against the hostility and resistance they often encounter.  Bernstein's basic idea of linking the characters and problems of modern urban life with Shakespeare, our most revered artistic icon, is deeply progressive.   Rewarded as the movie was with 10 Oscars, it was still controversial at the time.  I suspect the surging right wing movement of today would still be uncomfortable with West Side Story.

So I was blown away by this movie again on Friday.  It deserves to be celebrated after 50 years.  It remains one of the most vibrant, original works of American movie-making.

My musical July is continuing in fine form.   Next:  Les Miserables (again) on Bastille Day.  Vive la revolution!