West Side Story's Timeless Charm

What's the secret sauce behind the timeless allure of West Side Story? Join us on a captivating journey through the musical's vibrant origins and groundbreaking impact. We promise you'll gain insights into the creative minds of Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, and Stephen Sondheim, who transformed a concept of rival gangs into a cultural masterpiece. As we reflect on its evolution from "East Side Story," you'll discover the fascinating external influences that shaped its final form, including the pivotal newspaper article that redirected its narrative.

From the iconic choreography of Jerome Robbins to Stephen Sondheim's clever wordplay, we savor the dynamic elements that elevated West Side Story to legendary status. Hear about the demanding rehearsals and authentic dance research that set a new Broadway standard, and how the musical's narrative power continues to resonate across generations. We spotlight both the original Broadway run and the celebrated film adaptations, including Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake, celebrating the remarkable performances and enduring influence of talents like Rita Moreno.

Lastly, our lyrical exploration unravels the layers of humor and emotion embedded in this beloved musical. We muse on the playful language and thematic ties to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, while also examining Sondheim's reflections on his lyrical complexity. As we reminisce about standout numbers like "America" and the "Tonight Quintet," our love for the magic of the stage shines through, inviting you to celebrate the musical's lasting impact and timeless contribution to the world of theatre. Join us for a spirited episode filled with gratitude, anticipation, and an undying passion for musical theatre.

End of MLL

Transcript

Theatrical Tours and Exciting Musicals

Speaker 1 0:25

Hello and welcome to Musical Lyrical Lingo. We're your hosts, Tim and LJ.

Speaker 2 0:30

Today and every week we will be discussing musicals, but specifically what they taught us.

Speaker 1 0:36

We're back. We are 2025, baby.

Speaker 2 0:40

Oh, that's crazy, isn't it 2025?

Speaker 1 0:42

Yeah, and we have made our listeners wait.

Speaker 2 0:45

Yes, yes, we have. We do apologise, sorry.

Speaker 1 0:47

I just needed time. Yes, yes, we have. Sorry, I just needed time. You're a very busy person. I am so busy this year. It's hilarious, but sure we're all good. It's only January, sure.

Speaker 2 0:58

Still breathing and hopefully you like the fact that we've made you wait because you can see that there's been a few changes to the appearance of our musical.

Speaker 1 1:08

Oh yeah, yes, I thought you were talking about us there. No, no, no, that's okay. It's like have you done your hair up or something? No, no. Because I don't see a difference. Okay, but yes, I know what you mean. The brand darling, the brand, yes, yeah.

Speaker 2 1:22

So new logo and a newbie intro.

Speaker 1 1:26

Yes, Very, very show busy. Yes, very, very show busy. I know I mean, it's season three. We have to do something, don't we? We've got to amp the ante a bit.

Speaker 2 1:34

Yeah, I mean they're expecting it.

Speaker 1 1:37

Yes, some might say. But I have also bumped into some listeners who I do meet on the daily and they're like. I hope it doesn't change too much.

Speaker 2 1:46

I was like oh, that's cute.

Speaker 1 1:48

That is nice. That's nice. Yes, I mean. The reason we have rebranded and changed it up a bit is because we only won bronze in the Irish Podcasting Awards, so we had to do something to snatch the prize. So 2025 will be our years, I am sure of it.

Speaker 2 2:09

Some people would be like we won bronze and you're like we only won bronze.

Speaker 1 2:16

That is bad, I'm sorry. Yes, it is quite hilarious that we were up there in the top three for a podcasting award.

Speaker 2 2:25

We really have to thank our listeners I know well.

Speaker 1 2:27

Thank you, If maybe some more of you could have voted, we might have snatched the prize. But yeah, okay.

Speaker 2 2:38

Oh dear goodness, I'm so glad we're back.

Speaker 1 2:40

It's like being cast as a supporting male lead rather than the lead.

Speaker 2 2:44

Oh, you've experienced that many a time.

Speaker 1 2:47

Many a time you juggle me. The one time in my career onstage career where I was cast as the romantic male lead, I thought they'd done something, I thought it was a joke, like I was like are you taking the mech? And they were like, no, no really.

Speaker 2 3:01

I was like, oh, you've made a big mistake oh gosh, oh deary me, deary me, anyway, we, anyway, we're back, we're back.

Speaker 1 3:09

Raring to go.

Speaker 2 3:10

Yeah, nothing will change, or has changed too much, just our appearance, you know, keeping it fresh.

Speaker 1 3:15

But anyway, keeping it fresh, keeping it tight.

Speaker 2 3:20

What interesting theatre news have you got for us, Jay?

Speaker 1 3:23

Yes, well, I thought what better way to start our new year than look at the year ahead of us and what exciting things are coming. First of all into town, as they say in the biz, to the west end, and then maybe a few things to look out for on the road. Yeah, because actually it's quite an exciting year for UK and Ireland tours.

Speaker 2 3:49

So many and even at the time of recording there was a lot of announcements yesterday about UK tours.

Speaker 1 3:56

Well, I don't know if I saw that announcement yesterday so you can keep me up to date. So we'll go. We'll only do the first half of the year, right? So in town, starting in January, there is Scissorhands the musical.

Speaker 2 4:10

And what do we think that's based on? Is Scissorhands the Musical, and what do we think?

Speaker 1 4:11

that's based on Edward Scissorhands, which I haven't actually seen the movie. However, I do know Matthew Bourne's done a brilliant dance production of it, oh okay, yeah, it's one of the ones he did and it looks really rather fabulous. It was on TV at Christmas time so it is recorded and on the box. I just haven't watched it yet. Yeah, so Scissorhand the musical Reinvented is its full title is going to be playing in the Southwark Playhouse.

Speaker 2 4:40

I like that we play house.

Speaker 1 4:41

Yeah, on January 23rd until the 29th of March.

Speaker 2 4:46

Very good.

Speaker 1 4:47

Then February, we are looking at Clueless, the musical.

Speaker 2 4:50

Very excited about that.

Speaker 1 4:52

Just the latest in a very long line of like films that have now made it onto the stage. So, yeah, that's going to be open in Trafalgar Theatre in London on the 15th of February, march. This one is quite exciting for me because I remember seeing the movie which, if I'm not incorrect, starred Jessie Buckley, who in herself has had quite the acclaim on stage in the film Wild Rose.

Speaker 2 5:25

Oh yeah, that's a great film.

Speaker 1 5:26

Yeah, and I really enjoyed it. I loved her performance of it. Now I don't think she is taking on the role of it, but in March Wild Rose will be in the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. I would love to see that. It would be good. I think it would be good.

Speaker 2 5:45

The film is brilliant and if you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it.

Speaker 1 5:49

Absolutely. And then in April, the 11th of April, get the big bucks out, because the Great Gatsby is coming to the London Coliseum.

Speaker 2 5:59

And Jeremy Jordan's following it over the water.

Speaker 1 6:02

I know Fresh from Broadway. He just finished in Broadway there last week or the week before maybe, so that's really, really exciting. And then it would be a miss to not mention this one, because I think you're going to probably harp on about it for most of this year, june. The 6th of June 2025 in London's Theatre Royal Jury Lane will be Hercules, which the listeners are probably already sick of hearing about, because you went on and on and on about it at the end of last season.

Speaker 2 6:38

But I'm so excited.

Speaker 1 6:39

But this is the year of Hercules, right it is, so it's very exciting. I think more exciting is the UK touring circuit this year.

Speaker 2 6:50

Okay, so what have you got? News-wise.

Speaker 1 6:52

I want to see Kinky Boots.

Speaker 2 6:54

Yes, and it is coming to our home. It is coming to our town, so let's have a look.

Speaker 1 6:59

I think it just did previews last week, but it's starring Strictly Come Dancing icon Johannes. When the casting was announced I went no, come on. Oh really. But just because you see him as a dancer, don't get me wrong. He's probably one of the best professional strictly dancers there is in the UK version, but I just would never have thought of him as a musical theatre performer.

Speaker 1 7:29

But apparently he is one not to miss. Apparently it is amazing. So it is going to be starting its UK tour, so check out its website for where it's going to. It'll certainly raise you up. Clamley Jane is touring.

Speaker 2 7:50

It is no with the lovely Carrie Hope Fletcher True.

Speaker 1 7:54

And that would almost make me want to go and see it, maybe. So that's out there for the taking. Yeah, cruel Intentions, cruel Intentions. It was in the West End. Was it last year? Yeah, or maybe the year before.

Speaker 2 8:11

It and maybe the year before. It's now going out on the road so that 90s musical, no 90s film, which has been turned into a musical.

Speaker 1 8:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I meant to say. You know what I mean. Tina's going out on it is yeah, has it not toured before? No, no, okay. So Tina's going out. Another musical that hasn't toured before that is starting its first UK tour is Moulin Rouge.

Speaker 2 8:31

I know it's definitely coming to Dublin, isn't it?

Speaker 1 8:33

Yeah, it is. It's preparing itself at the moment, but I just don't know how that's going to work.

Speaker 2 8:42

You've seen it, haven't you?

Speaker 1 8:43

I've seen it and I've seen it in. You know, in was it the Piccadilly, and so much is done to the theatre which adds so much to the musical that it'll be interesting to see how they rescale it.

Speaker 1 8:57

Do you know what I mean for a touring version? So yeah, and then obviously, here and now, the spectacular steps musical on a major tour, not just a tour, a major UK tour. So just a tour, a major UK tour. So I would love to see that. And then there's Matilda and Miss Saigon as well. Those are big names for 2025.

Speaker 2 9:19

And yesterday Fiddler on the Roof is going to be in town for a bit first, and then it's going on a UK tour.

Speaker 1 9:28

Well, I'll bring my sleeping bag for that one, not that fussed in Fiddler, to be fair. I mean there's a reason we haven't done it on the podcast yet, but anyway, far too many daughters for my liking.

Speaker 2 9:40

It hasn't been around for ages, Fiddler, so that is quite exciting.

Speaker 1 9:44

I think probably the last time Fiddler was around, our younger siblings were in the UK. The UK to inversion. Yeah, I think. Yeah, fell asleep that time too okay, okay.

Speaker 2 9:55

Well, that was a lovely theater news. Thank you for that. That was great, that's great.

Speaker 1 10:01

We'll try and keep you up to date this year with all the the goings-ons. Yeah right, what are we doing? I'm a bit nervous, to be quite honest, but yeah, I feel out of practice okay.

Speaker 2 10:11

Okay, and this is quite a big one for us to start back on.

Speaker 1 10:14

Well, we kind of just went. What do we start back with? It has to start with a bang. Yeah but not too big a bang.

Speaker 2 10:24

Or a rumble.

Speaker 1 10:25

And not a rumble in the jungle, if you know what I mean. No, but we also. We wanted it big, but not too big, not big it is big. It is big. Some say it's the best ever.

Speaker 2 10:40

Some do say that.

Speaker 1 10:41

I agree, I agree with what you're saying in your subtle ways, in your subtle ways, okay, so what rumble are we having today?

Speaker 2 10:50

West Side Story.

Speaker 1 10:51

Absolutely. It says one of the most loved musicals at the top of your notes Beloved musicals.

Speaker 2 10:59

Yeah, one of the most beloved musicals.

Speaker 1 11:01

Alright well, I left the first two letters off.

Speaker 2 11:03

And greatest love story of all time. I mean it's Romeo and Juliet.

Speaker 1 11:08

Absolutely Set just a few blocks away from Broadway itself. West Side Story updates it's Romeo and Juliet, absolutely Set just a few blocks away from Broadway itself. West Side Story updates Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York. For many people, from devoted fans to serious music critics and I think this is where it holds a bit of power West Side Story the fans loved it, but also the music critics also loved it, but also the music critics also loved it, and some say it's the greatest show of all time. In my opinion not so much. It's certainly up there, but I I'm not so sure you can give it that.

Speaker 2 11:45

Okay, If I was to ask you is West Side Story in your top ten?

Speaker 1 11:48

No.

Speaker 2 11:49

It's not in mine either.

Vibrant Origins of West Side Story

Speaker 1 11:51

Just because of the makeup of the show I think, okay, you know I'm not so sure I get out of West Side Story what I look for in a musical. Okay, does that make sense. Yeah, that's fair. But I also appreciate the makeup of West Side Story and how of its time and I can understand why it has sticking power and why some people do love it we know some people who they say is their number one.

Speaker 2 12:23

They absolutely adore it and could listen to the album on repeat. I don't feel that way about West Side Story. It's not that I don't like it. Yeah, I don't feel that way about West Side Story. It's not that I don't like it. I do, but I don't love, love, love it.

Speaker 1 12:37

Yeah, it is one of those soundtracks that when you come back to it after a while you do get a bit of a oh yeah, this is a good, absolutely.

Speaker 1 12:48

This is a really good soundtrack and it gives you the heebie-jeebies like in a good way, like you're sometimes might like wee tiny hairs would stand up on my arms and stuff, because musically it's very, very special. And Leonard Bernstein, who was the composer of the show, along with the writer Arthur Lawrence and then choreographer and director Jerome Robbins, like made a brilliant show. Yeah, at the top of page one of Leonard Bernstein's copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the show composer scrawled an out and out plea for racial tolerance and apparently his handwriting seemed rushed and difficult to make out and underlined in a broad empathetic sweep. Clearly he was inspired from the word go Reading Shakespeare's texts.

Speaker 2 13:52

Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, yes, you mentioned. Book was Lawrence and score was Bernstein, but lyrics are by a little person that we do know called Stephen Sondheim.

Speaker 1 14:03

Yeah, and even his, you know his path to being involved was quite special too for him.

Speaker 2 14:10

Yeah, and I think we mentioned it before where it was actually. He was inspired by another famous lyricist, uh-huh, and his mentor in many ways, wasn't it?

Speaker 2 14:23

Yeah, and it's just interesting to think that this is a project that he didn't want to take on board. And then Hammerstein said give it a go. Yeah, like you do not know where that can lead to and what just a wonderful way to think about life as well is just give it a go and, like you, just don't know where it could lead to, and that's oscar, hammerstein of hammer rogers and hammerstein fame.

Speaker 2 14:44

Yeah, absolutely um yeah, so shakespeare's romeo and juliet retold in a modern New York City. Two young lovers from different sides found themselves struggling to navigate a world of hate, gangs, prejudice and violence absolutely.

Speaker 1 15:02

An early suggestion was for the show to be called East Side Story, which I think is hilarious.

Speaker 2 15:08

I think it's hilarious that it was East Side Story and then rewritten We'll Go West.

Speaker 1 15:14

But it was originally East Side Story because it was they thought about, you know, showcasing the conflicts between Catholics and Jews on the streets of New York. But it didn't quite work.

Speaker 2 15:28

No, and that's actually one of my very first musical lyrical lingos. I never knew that. Yeah, I didn't know that, nor me. So it was 1948. Originally, the plot focused on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan during Easter season. Yeah, so conflict was to be centred then on anti-Semitism of the Catholic jets to the Jewish emeralds. And obviously, if we know West Side Story, the jets have been kept. But it's the jets and the sharks. But there is a reference to the emeralds where they talk about their previous confrontation being with the emeralds so it is a little throwback to the original idea, I suppose.

Speaker 1 16:15

Actually, for a show that is now part of Broadway musical theatre history. Exactly how the inspiration would take so many years to materialise is surprising. It was drawn out for years and years and I was quite troubled for a long time. Um robbins had difficulty getting his co-creators to actually commit to spending time with him, and he once wrote I'd try to get the guys together and couldn't. They didn't want to do it at the start, you know. But eventually the writers then stumbled upon a newspaper article about the street clashes between the Puerto Rican immigrants and the native-born Americans.

Speaker 2 17:01

Six whole years after Robbins first brought them together, they finally had their setting, you know, but like six years, I know it's crazy and it was actually just from picking up a newspaper in the Beverly Hills hotel, um, and then it was oh, yes, that would work better. And I think then um, lawrence actually had um, actually all of them, I think had some sort of understanding of this conflict, rivalry, so they felt they could write about it or do it justice.

Speaker 1 17:29

And originally Bernstein had then planned to write the lyrics himself, but when pressures of work made that that impossible, it was writer uh lawrence that suggested he hire a young unknown writer who had the advantage of growing up in new york's upper west side and his name was Stephen Sondheim. He was, sondheim was deeply impressed with Bernstein, who wrote in his diary what a talent. It's like working with an alter ego.

Speaker 2 17:59

Oh, wow, yeah, that's nice, I've got.

Speaker 1 18:05

I got that wrong there. Bernstein was deeply impressed by.

Speaker 2 18:08

Sondheim by Sondheim. Yeah, yeah, that's what Bernstein wrote. Sorry, I actually thought that's what you said.

Speaker 1 18:12

Is it? Maybe it was and my brain's playing tricks with me.

Dynamic Impact of West Side Story

Speaker 2 18:15

No, yeah, so also. A lot was said about Robbins, so I want to ask you as well have you ever watched his documentary, which was made in 2009? Of course, I have. I was going to say that's all right, it happens, no, no. His documentary is about his life and work and it's called Something to Dance About. It's on YouTube.

Speaker 1 18:34

Okay, okay, and there we go, folks. It only took us episode one of season three before Lauren dropped a documentary into the conversation.

Speaker 2 18:47

But he had a really interesting mind and I do think that's why some people love West Side Story too. It's how he choreographed. It Really took the time he went into high schools as well to understand how people were dancing, and he worked them so hard, didn't he, that they went through their clothes, they had to wear knee pads and, um, it was. Yeah, I think it was a lot, but there was real blood, sweat and tears put into this production yeah, thousand percent.

Speaker 1 19:18

Um, like steven sondheim was impressed with lawrence's book um, which is actually one of the shortest books in Broadway history. Oh, okay, and, according to the lyricist, a miracle of compression. Just how he was able to compress the story so well Tony and Maria falling in love in just eight lines yeah, he once said, and you believed it. Yeah, true. However, it was, as you've said, that clear and concise and exact style of storytelling on West Side Story. That, arguably, is largely down to the physical communication and the dance, and at that time, no Broadway musical before had ever been driven by dance. You had had the ballet which we've talked about way, way back in season one in oklahoma. Yeah, but it was a ballet placed into a musical, whereas here whole sections of the plot were made clear not through song, not even through dialogue, but through jerome robbins explosive dance routines and the dance is very iconic.

Speaker 2 20:26

You know the clicking, you know the hunkering down, the low level sort of dance, the swishing.

Speaker 1 20:35

You did so well.

Speaker 2 20:37

I was going to say I'm not a choreographer, so I'm not even sure. I am but I'm impressed. But yeah, that is very iconic and memorable and in fact you it would be.

Speaker 1 20:50

if you went and seen a production of west side and those things weren't there, you would feel cheated yeah, because they are needed yeah, and this is the thing with you know groups or you know um, you know groups or you know producers that do West Side Story. It is that happy balance of making sure there's enough of a nod to the original, but it's not a carbon copy. Yeah, do you know what I mean? Listen, robbins believed his own hype. He once said I really was so ahead of myself. Like good for him. He also knew what he wanted and he got it. Usually the rehearsal period for a new musical is four to five weeks and he demanded that he had a longer rehearsal period, so he got eight.

Speaker 2 21:44

He did. Yeah, but I mean, you can understand why it took years and I think everybody that has who was involved in the original production as well as the 1961 film movie musical and said that whenever they were dancing it was lovely to dance as part of a character and not just do like a two step because the choreographer wanted that in there. It was. Every single move was because that character would have moved that way.

Speaker 1 22:12

Yeah, that's it. And listen. The show was a smash and its success seemed to only grow with time. A first Broadway run took place in the Winter Garden Theatre in 1957 and ran for 985 performances. Nominated for seven Tonys won three, including Best Musical, best Choreographer, obviously, and Best Scenic Design. Then there was the London Transfer that actually topped the Broadway production, running for 1039 performances between 1958 and 1961.

Speaker 2 22:50

I just think it's funny that there's this thing about why has no work of Sondheim's lasted over a thousand performances? And there's even West End Story didn't quite make a thousand performances. It's very bizarre.

Speaker 1 23:03

So we've got the 1961 movie, musical then, which was didn't quite make a thousand performances.

Speaker 2 23:06

It's very bizarre. But yes, we've got the 1961 movie musical there which was co-directed by Robbins and Robert Wise who did Sound of Music. It is said that Robert was only, he only needed to come on as co-director because the movie production needed a name. Really, robbins could have done it himself, but there needed a big name, isn't that interesting? I think he did say in his book or memoir he said you know, actually I was just a name Robbins did.

Speaker 1 23:40

He did the lion sheriff.

Speaker 2 23:44

It was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 10, including best picture isn't that outstanding, though.

Speaker 1 23:51

Like what films? Movie, musical film, yeah exactly like from all of the nominations, nearly walk away with every single one. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 24:02

and then remade in 2021 by Steven Spielberg, who always claimed that he would remake it. He had a real love for West Side Story, so he directed the film, and it was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won Best Supporting.

Speaker 1 24:22

Not as successful in the awards as the original.

Speaker 2 24:27

No People say that. You know, obviously with the pandemic, that definitely did hinder it. A lot People weren't getting out to the theatres in 2021. And then it went straight on to like a streaming service. So it was just difficult, I think, to drum up.

Speaker 1 24:43

But I mean, it's good, I agree. Listen, I wasn't offended by it in any way, and I also think Ariana DeBoss, who did win the Oscar for her performance of Anita as Best Supporting Actress, was fantastic.

Speaker 2 25:01

Yeah, she was very good, and how amazing that the Oscar has been won for the same role.

Speaker 1 25:07

I know.

Speaker 2 25:08

Because Brida Moreno.

Speaker 1 25:10

Who also was then in the 2021 film. I thought that was a really lovely touch, actually, and it's a bit like the Wicked film. I love that they incorporated Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. So anyone who hasn't seen the 2021 Spielberg adaptation of West Side Story, rita Moreno, who did win the Oscar back in 1961 for her performance of Anita, she is also in the 2021 version. She is also in the you know, this 2021 um version. She was also the first latin american woman to win an oscar, I know, hi, amazing.

Speaker 1 25:54

So in spielsberg's remake she appears as valentina, who is a reconceived and expanded version of the character Doc, who serves as a mentor to the teenage characters, and in this version she sings somewhere and she single-handedly maybe has something to do with. Steven Spielberg solved one of the biggest issues I had with the original musical Interesting Because in Act Two somewhere, one of the biggest songs in the song list right, one of the biggest songs in musical theatre is sung during a ballet, but it's sung by isn't it anybody's, or is it even anybody's in some versions? Ah, yeah, isn't it anybody's, or is it even anybody's in some versions? And I'm just like why is such a big song thrown away by a kind of non-character?

Speaker 2 26:54

do you know what I?

Speaker 1 26:54

mean, whereas actually in the remake, because valentina, who had such a pivotal role throughout the show her singing it, it gave it so much more depth and so much more weight behind it. I thought now I know of some people who absolutely hated the Valentina character and couldn't understand why it had been done. I, on the other hand, thought it was a fantastic choice.

Speaker 2 27:24

Yeah, I agree and I like it and I think it also is a bit of we need to change and we need to constantly be reminded that we need to look out for one another and we don't look at our differences and we look at what makes us similar, and I love that she sang that. Yeah.

Insights Into West Side Story

Speaker 1 27:39

And I also think, in a show that's quite male-heavy, let's be honest've got a great show for boys and you've got maria. It was lovely to have another female role that was so pivotal and had such, yeah, an important role to play. Yeah, I thought it was great that was good. Shall we talk about what we've learned then yeah, absolutely, here we go folks musical lyrical lingos for 2025.

Speaker 2 28:08

So, like I said, my very first was the fact that it was originally Eastside story and then it was going to be the Jets and the Emeralds. I then didn't know that. Actually, whenever they called it off because Lawrence called it Lyric Theatre, lawrence wrote a first draft he called East Side Story and then he discarded the themes because they were already in a play which is called Abbey's Irish Rose. So I didn't even know about that play. Robbins then opted to drop out and they all went their own way. The word and the idea of juvenile delinquents was actually juvenile delinquent gangs was thought up in that Beverly Hills hotel. So I didn't know that either and I never knew Bernstein and Lawrence were blacklisted for being alleged communists. Oh, so that is another reason why they were able to come together after five years, because not very many people wanted to work with them. Okay, so interesting.

Speaker 1 29:13

I didn't know that either. That's quite shocking.

Speaker 2 29:15

Yeah, I also learned about Oscar Hammerstein saying to Sondheim move the song One Hand, one Heart to the bridal shop Um. And then, as a result, the song tonight was written.

Speaker 1 29:31

Oh, so it wasn't originally. No, but do we know where it was originally supposed to be?

Speaker 2 29:37

One heart was meant to be where tonight would be, and they then moved it, and then they had to put a new song in, so interesting.

Speaker 1 29:43

Well, in when, when you're a jet, you're the top hat in town, you're the gold medal kid with the heavyweight crown. Yes, I have been in the.

Speaker 2 29:54

West Side Story. Yes, you have.

Speaker 1 29:56

They sing every last bugging gang in the whole bugging street, on the whole ever mother loving street. Arthur Lawrence actually created a faux street jargon.

Speaker 1 30:09

Yes, I loved this For the Jets and the Sharks to use. That included the replacement of any expletives, of other words, Because at that time there was really random obscenity laws. Oh, okay, when you know certain things like I think there is a musical lingo further on than I've got, where if it was in a soundtrack or in a cast recording or an album it wouldn't be played or it couldn't be distributed. So I thought that was quite, really quite clever. Maria, the song Maria, which is probably the most, that was LJ singing there. That was not her having a stroke. It was beautiful. Thank you so much. However, once you've heard Maria maybe once or twice, I was going to say once you don't need to hear it ever again, do you? Do you know how many times the word or the name Maria is sung in the song Maria?

Speaker 2 31:16

73.

Speaker 1 31:17

No, not that much. All right, 30. That's a lot for a song. It's a bit excessive, isn't it? And what makes me laugh is at this point in the story, tony has only come across Maria like for about 12 seconds. I know.

Speaker 2 31:34

How can?

Speaker 1 31:34

you fall in love with someone in 12 seconds and feel the need to sing her name 30 times.

Speaker 2 31:39

Well, actually, my husband fell in love with me within 10 seconds, would you say that 10 seconds?

Speaker 1 31:45

Are you serious? 10 seconds is all it took 10 seconds.

Speaker 2 31:51

I wouldn't repeat that sentence in public. Yeah, whenever I first looked at her, I thought, yeah, I like her. Did I fall in love? Don't think so.

Speaker 1 32:00

Did you go around the ice cream parlor shop singing her name LJ 30 times, 30 times, yeah, bless, I'm going to book. Where's the bucket? I see America on your page.

Speaker 2 32:14

Yes, america, so I want to be an American. Do you know what? Probably our In the Heights episode was so bad? That's why I tried to Puerto Rican accent.

Speaker 1 32:24

No, do you notice how we've steered away from other foreign languages? Yeah, we're not doing that this year. Us how we've steered away from other foreign languages? Yeah, we're not doing that this year.

Speaker 2 32:33

What I also find really interesting is we have the America, or sorry. We have the 1957 version, which is the original, and then we have the 1961, which most people are familiar with because it's a movie, musical and it was really accessible and really popular, so a lot of people know the words from that. We also have the 2009 re mastered version, which Lin-Manuel Miranda helped translate it into Spanish, and then obviously, we have the 2021. Each version, lyrics will be slightly different. One of the reasons that the lyrics in America were changed for the 1961 film was because Rita refused to sing some of them because they were quite offensive. Yes, but anyway, in America in 1957, I'd never, obviously, first hearing West Side Story whenever I was little Puerto Rico, I knew it was an island, because it mentions that it's an island.

Speaker 1 33:28

You're lovely island.

Speaker 2 33:33

Tropical diseases.

Speaker 1 33:34

Yeah, island of tropic diseases.

Speaker 2 33:37

Yeah, so I learned that. And then they talk about wire spoke wheel, which is just the suspension, obviously, of a. You know the way it's. Not all bikes have a good suspension, so that, and then I don't ride a bike. They talk about a Buck B-U-I-C-K which is just a big SUV car.

Speaker 1 33:57

Oh, a Buick. Thank you, buick.

Speaker 2 33:59

Yeah, sorry.

Speaker 1 34:00

First mispronunciation of the season. It was in.

Speaker 2 34:03

English. No, it was in English America. Then, in 1961, they mention a Cadillac, which is a car, and then they mention a terraced apartment. So I didn't know what a terraced apartment was, you know, until I'd obviously listened to that. So I like that.

Speaker 1 34:17

There was a lot in America.

Speaker 2 34:19

I like that.

Speaker 1 34:20

There's different versions and probably you can learn something depending on which version you listen to that's a really interesting fact about Rita not wanting to sing some of the lyrics because they are quite offensive yeah, she was only puerto rican yeah, so it like.

Exploring West Side Story's Themes

Speaker 1 34:37

so there's in two different verses they say puerto rico, you lovely island, and then they say you ugly island, in the next verse island of tropicic diseases. Interestingly, the CIA fact book lists major tropical diseases found in Puerto Rico belonging to food and waterborne diseases, including typhoid, hepatitis A and E. Now Sondheim mentioned in his book Finishing the Hat. Have you read that? No, I haven't. I didn't even know. Sondheim had a book Guess what I'm doing this year. He mentioned in his book shortly after West Side Story opened I received a letter from a Dr Howard Rusch, founder of Rusk Institute, complaining that I had maligned Puerto Rico. In the verse that in fact the island had very low incidences of tropic diseases, he states. I'm sure his outrage was justified, but I wasn't about to sacrifice the line that set the tone for the whole lyric. So thank you for your letter noted I'm not changing anything.

Speaker 1 35:54

My artistic decision is staying it's always for the art, right? You poo-poo a whole country, but it's for the art. They also sing nobody knows in america puerto ricas in america, um, and this could be referring to the fact that um few people in saying nobody knows in America, puerto Rico's in America, and this could be referring to the fact that few people in America realized or acknowledged that Puerto Rico is an American territory, now a self-governing commonwealth. Yeah, therefore considered in America.

Speaker 2 36:25

In America. Yeah, the other thing then that also I learned musical lyrical wise was, as you'd mentioned earlier, about the made-up language. But made-up was actually almost like an Alice in Wonderland type slang, so the gangs were able to say words that wouldn't age the show.

Speaker 1 36:44

That is it.

Speaker 2 36:44

Isn't that really?

Speaker 1 36:45

interesting.

Speaker 2 36:46

But then it's funny that no matter when people do West Side Story, they always keep it in the 1950s. So they did put language in it to make sure it didn't age it, but in fact people just stick with the 1950s, sort of that's it.

Speaker 1 37:00

I just think it's one of those ones that when you go to see a West Side Story, you're wanting to see a West Side Story. Yeah, yeah I know it's a hard one and it takes a brave production team to shake it up on its head a wee bit. Do you know what I mean? True, one of my favourite songs Tonight, quintet, end of Act 1, talk about O moon grow bright and make this endless day, endless night.

Speaker 2 37:26

It's a great lyric. I love that line.

Speaker 1 37:28

Sometimes actually honouring Shakespeare in that line. He is great lyric. I love that line Sometimes actually honouring Shakespeare in that line. He is.

Speaker 2 37:31

That's why I love that line.

Speaker 1 37:33

There you go, because Shakespeare says Come gentle night, come loving black bride night, etc. So this verse of Tony's is a direct echo of a speech, romeo and Juliet, which is somewhat too long to reasonably transcribe, but which contains the same complaint about the day passing slowly and the same longing for night to arrive and bring with it joy and love.

Speaker 2 38:01

Yeah, and also, if you remember, whenever Romeo is going to be banished and she is like oh no, no, that is not the sun, it is the moon.

Speaker 1 38:14

She's trying to convince him to stay and, interestingly, in Tonight, tonight, tonight, it All Began. Tonight, this line uses I have to get the right word iambic pentameter, which is a poetic meter most famously used by Shakespeare, the man himself.

Speaker 2 38:32

The man himself. The man himself yeah.

Speaker 1 38:35

I feel pretty. Lauren, do you? Yeah, I do, oh, so pretty.

Speaker 2 38:40

And witty and bright.

Speaker 1 38:42

Yeah, only Sondheim had a real regret.

Speaker 2 38:47

Oh, okay.

Speaker 1 38:49

The one regret he had was about that song. I Feel Pretty.

Speaker 2 38:53

Did he not love it?

Speaker 1 38:54

No, he said his lyrics for Maria in that song weren't quite right. They were too complex and too sophisticated for a young girl dizzy with love. And yet the song became one of the score's best known and most recorded songs. Everybody sings it. It's a bit like every male musical theatre star has sung Maria in their musical theatre album. And then the opera singers start and it's like folks come, please, just leave it alone.

Speaker 2 39:27

Can we all just leave it? Yeah, funny.

Lyrical Analysis of West Side Story

Speaker 2 39:28

Just leave it alone I have a little bit about. I feel pretty, um, that it's meant to be the light relief of the um, the show, and um, because she's meant to show that she is happy, and um, and a young girl with young, um, innocent feelings, um, but they are meant, then, the girls are meant to really make fun of her now and too, but, um, but it says they make fun of her, calling her out. She isn't in love, she's simply insane. And it must be the heat.

Speaker 1 39:59

All right, girls. Jeez, great way of like knocking the poor girl off her, yeah, off her, wee, I know Like what am I trying to say? Not a pedestal.

Speaker 2 40:12

Cause she's not. Yeah, I know like what am I trying to say? Not a pedestal offer. We love cloud, yeah, cloud and G officer G officer Cropkey there we go. I knew we were really upset was going there. This is a bit of the words. You know, the made up words are just how they would speak naturally. Naturally, but it's just naturally you know the made up. Words are just how they would speak. Yeah, naturally, naturally, but it's just naturally. Yeah, but it's N-A-T-C-H-E-R-L-Y. It just helps you sing it, doesn't it?

Speaker 1 40:37

It does indeed.

Speaker 2 40:38

And we obviously have the word delinquents, delinquents.

Speaker 1 40:41

Delinquents.

Speaker 2 40:42

You know and.

Speaker 1 40:42

We ain't no delinquents. We're misunderstood Deep down inside us. We are good, we are good.

Speaker 2 40:50

We are good there's Marijuana is mentioned in it too. It's probably the first time I heard of that yes, okay.

Speaker 1 40:58

And it says S-O-B, son of a buzzard yeah, I know Son of a.

Speaker 2 41:02

And then Leaping Lizards Leaping Lizards. That's why I'm so bad. And name the other musical Leaping Lizards. That's why I'm so bad. And the other musical Leaping Lizards is mentioned in.

Speaker 1 41:11

And I eat Leaping.

Speaker 1 41:13

Lizards Leaping Lizards, okay, so yeah, yeah, in one of the I love, it's one of my favorite numbers in the whole show they sing this boy don't need a judge, he needs an analyst care. It's just his neurosis that ought to be cured. Yeah, neurosis, mental health, anxiety and primary characteristic um also they. They sing my, he goes my. My sister wears a mustache, my brother wears a dress, my grandma pushes tea. Do you know what the tea is? No, pushing tea is a slang for pot dealing. There's your marijuana coming in? They also sing glory oski. That's why I'm a jerk.

Speaker 1 42:04

And this is a catchphrase of the character Little Annie Rooney, who starred in the successful American comic strip which ran from 1927 to 1966. Now, interestingly, they talk about this social disease Like I got a social disease. They're basically trying to work out why there's such a mess, right, and one of the professionals they so-called see um says oh, you got a social disease. And then they sing because no one wants a fella with a social disease. Now, this line is interesting because it's kind of a sort of a double pun. Yeah, so early in the song they refer to delinquency as a social disease, as a problem with society. That makes sense, however, at the time, a social disease as a problem with society. That makes sense. However, at the time a social disease was another term for a STI or STD. Yeah, and then G? Of is a crop, g, crop U, which is how the number ends.

Speaker 1 43:00

In early drafts of the show, this line was actually supposed to say F? U. That's right, right, but lyricists and lyricists sometime wanted to be the first lyricist to use like a four letter word in a Broadway musical. He's a naughty boy, isn't he? He is, but Columbia Records objected, since it would forbid them to sell the recording of the show across the state line due to those obscenity laws that I was talking to you about earlier. So he changed it to crop you. Sondheim has since maintained that it was the right decision and, in his opinion, the best lyric in the show.

Speaker 2 43:40

I love it.

Speaker 1 43:41

There you go, that's good, that's good.

Speaker 2 43:42

Sometimes he can change, so I learned a lot musically from this show, but I want to show you this little thing that my mum used to collect oh so we have West Side Story, which was number one, and then there's like Kiss Me Cake and there's lots of others. But I always find this fact really interesting. And this is my last musical lyrical lingo, so it does have a whole bit about Leonard and Stephen. I call them first names because they're my mates, but did you know that?

Speaker 1 44:13

Are they coming on the pod this year? Yeah, they are.

Speaker 2 44:16

Did you know that Audrey Hepburn was? They did want Audrey Hepburn to play Maria.

Speaker 1 44:22

Oh, thank God she didn't play Maria, but she didn't.

Speaker 2 44:25

They also wanted James Dean for Tony, but that didn't happen. But actually, what I found really interesting is in the film version there is Natalie Wood who plays Maria, but she's not singing. It's Marnie Nixon, and Marnie Nixon was also the voice of Audrey in my Fair Lady. Interesting, isn't that a really fun fact.

Speaker 1 44:48

Those wee books are very cute. They are lovely so they came with like was it CDs?

Speaker 2 44:54

This is how old they are. West Side Story on CD or cassette.

Speaker 1 44:59

Oh my goodness, adorable, absolutely.

Speaker 2 45:01

And each?

Speaker 1 45:02

do you still have the CDs and cassettes I?

Speaker 2 45:04

still have the CDs, that's really cute. And it goes into lots of detail about. In this one. You know the movie as well as the original. I do have to just correct you, because you said that the thing ran for 900 performances. It was only 734.

Speaker 1 45:21

Maybe it's not counting the previews.

Speaker 2 45:23

I think that's what it is, Because it says and then returned to Broadway.

Speaker 1 45:29

Wouldn't be an episode where you're not cracked in my life and returned to Broadway for a further 249. So just in case anybody likes to fact, check us, so tell you what do the songs.

Speaker 2 45:37

Yeah, exactly, but I'm just saying the original was 734.

Speaker 1 45:42

I think maybe you've just contradicted yourself. Do you have any standing ovations for West Side Story?

Speaker 2 45:48

I'm going to say America is a standing ovation, because it's a great song for an ensemble, but also character driven too, and I just love the choreography. You know the original in that. What about you?

Speaker 1 46:05

I love the Tonight Quintet, the end of Act One, one of the best, I think. If we ever do a Top 10 of Act 1 Finale numbers, I would say it probably Would be in my Top 10. Somewhere I love and you Touched on something earlier In the episode About the translations that were put in To the 2009 Cast record, the Broadway revival of it. One of my favourite songs is a boy like that. It's the part where anita is given off. So kill your brother. Yes, so much I love it. Right, but in the 2009 production they had anita singing it in spanish, which makes it even more like what. That's really cool.

Speaker 2 46:49

Yeah, and I do like that. In the 2021 version, sondheim refused to put subtitles for the Spanish, to give the English language and the Spanish language equilibrium.

Speaker 1 47:01

Totally makes sense. West Side Story gives me nightmares.

Speaker 2 47:08

Why? Because of the amount of times you'd be in it.

Speaker 1 47:10

No, I actually was only ever in it once. What? Yeah, no, I was only ever in it once. And you know what? It was one of those shows where I wasn't like jumping at the bit to be in. Do you know what I mean? I was only ever in it once. And another one of my standovations is the dance at the gym, because Leonard Bernstein's music is just like his music is wonderful in this.

Speaker 1 47:38

Unbelievable. And then the mambo stuff which he was. You know, he was inspired by the Cuban beats and he was like that was then written in to dance at the gym. Because he came back and he was like no, we need to put these rhythms in. But in the production I was doing, I was on stage ready to do the Dance. At the Gym, the orchestra was playing the ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba and I was standing and my dance partner still was nowhere to be seen. Oh, yes, like nowhere to be seen. Yes, like nowhere to be seen, literally, when I say she made it in the last milliscule moment before we started dancing together and it was obviously a dance in the gym. Everybody was in couples, everybody was dancing together. I would have looked like an absolute tool. Yeah, like last millisecond, which it's quite funny because even to this day, if we bump into each other, she would still every so often apologize to me going I can't believe I did that to you. And I was like, yeah, I can't believe you did that to me.

Speaker 2 48:39

That's funny.

Speaker 1 48:40

Yeah.

Speaker 2 48:40

Yeah, it's a good show. Yeah, I'm glad we started with it you know some people will have a lot of love for this, so hopefully that you even learned something, a little bit um, from what we have said. Yeah, it's not that we don't adore it, it's just definitely one that it's nice to take a break from it and go back to and sort of revisit. It wouldn't be one that would be constantly listened to 24 7 can I get on my high horse for one second, one second.

Speaker 1 49:06

Go for it. I think. If you're doing it, you only do it if you have the right cast absolutely.

Speaker 2 49:12

I think so. I think that's very, very important.

Speaker 1 49:14

Don't be doing it if you don't have a puerto rican, puerto rican cast. No, because gone are the days where we can. You know, those days should never have been here in the first place. No, you know, don't be tanning people up.

Speaker 2 49:28

No, they did it for the 1961 film. Yeah, and it's not acceptable and they shouldn't have done it then.

Speaker 1 49:33

No, especially when you know, at the top of Romeo and Juliet, leonard Bernstein writes what he wrote. Yeah, you know. A cry out about racial tolerance. Yeah, do you know what I mean? Do it with the right cast.

Speaker 2 49:47

Perfect. Alright, a good note to end on.

Speaker 1 49:49

Now let's end on a high. What would Paddy do?

Speaker 2 49:54

Okay, what would Paddy do? A new section?

Speaker 1 49:56

We've got a wee extra feature just to finish each episode on this year and it's quick fire. Quick fire, right? No thinking so I'm doing this week's. What Would Paddy Do? Basically, imagine your agent has been on the phone, you've got two offers on the table and we're saying what would Paddy do? What would the musical theatre legend Paddy Lepone do? Now we can answer it from our point of view. I don't think we need to be Paddy.

Speaker 2 50:23

Pretend to be Paddy.

Speaker 1 50:24

My impression of Paddy is you don't have the rage, darling. I'm not doing musical theater anymore, I'm doing strip dance. So this week's, what Would Paddy Do? Your options are would you dance a powerful America, or America in West Side Story, or a seductive cell block tango in Chicago? Oh, I'm going to seductive cell block tango in Chicago.

Speaker 2 50:52

Oh, I'm going to have to go cell block tango because I'm not Puerto Rican.

Speaker 1 50:57

Good point, however, dancing a frilly dress or dancing frilly lingerie.

Speaker 2 51:05

I know, and fishing out tights and pants.

Speaker 1 51:07

Fishing out tights and pants. You're going to do cell block tango, aren't you Fishing out tights and pants? Fishnet tights and pants. You're going to do self-locked tango, aren't you? Fishnet tights and pants? Holy moly. Well, there we go. We're back with a bang folks.

Speaker 2 51:18

We hope you enjoyed and we cannot wait to be continually in your ears in 2025.

Speaker 1 51:24

Thanks for sticking with us Until next week.

Speaker 2 51:26

Bye, bye.