It has become indelibly imprinted on the American musical psyche.
Like Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” or Martha Graham’s “Applachian Spring,” “West Side Story” stands as a cultural landmark, both vividly capturing its time and simultaneously transcending it.
Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of this extraordinary work, which signaled the start of a new kind of gritty realism in Broadway musicals, a development that later would be taken even further by Stephen Sondheim and others.
After previewing some weeks earlier in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, the musical made its Broadway debut at the Winter Garden on Sept. 26, 1957 – surely one of the most important dates in American cultural history.
No more gifted group of creators has ever been gathered to craft a musical theater production than those surrounding “West Side Story.” Choreographer Jerome Robbins called Leonard Bernstein in 1949 with his idea of an updated version of “Romeo and Juliet” set in an ethnic neighborhood in New York.
Robbins suggested Arthur Laurents write the book, and the nucleus of the creative team was in place. Little more happened until 1955, when the idea of rival street gangs was introduced and another member of the team was added – Sondheim, who was still in his 20s.
“What a talent!” writes Bernstein in his diary of the young lyricist. “I think he’s ideal for this project, as do we all. The collaboration grows.”
As the opening approached, there were all the tribulations that come with any worthwhile project, with Bernstein lamenting to his wife that all the parts he liked best were being cut from the work.
But in the end, of course, the musical was both an artistic and commercial success, running for 772 performances on Broadway, touring for a year and undergoing a transformation into a popular feature film in 1961.
While other musicals sound dated and even a little quaint to today’s ears, “West Side Story” still has a contemporary feel, in part because of its subject matter – a combination of fundamental human truths and still-relevant social issues.
But more important is Bernstein’s high-voltage, percussive score, with its echoes of Aaron Copland and its nods to Latin dance and cool jazz (Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” would be released just two years later.)
This viscerally exciting, immediately recognizable music can be heard in all its glory on Bernstein’s now-classic 1984 recording of “West Side Story.” It features such operatic luminaries as José Carreras, Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa and Marilyn Horne.
To mark the musical’s anniversary, Deutsche Grammophon has reissued the release in a beautiful deluxe edition, complete with a 100-page hardcover book including vintage photos, Bernstein’s diary of the work’s creation and a DVD documentary on the making of the recording.
If more natural, Broadway-style voices might still be preferred, the polished, virtuosic performances of these high-caliber artists validate a more operatic approach.
American musicals, at least those with a more operatic scope, have increasingly become staples on opera stages as Broadway has more and more ignored its own past and boundaries between the genres have blurred.
Colorado audiences will have an opportunity to revisit “West Side Story” when Central City Opera presents a new production of it as part of its recently announced 2008 season along with Benjamin Britten’s “Rape of Lucretia” and Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah.”
Pat Pearce, Central City’s general and artistic director, considered several possible musicals, but he ruled out many other possibilities because of technical constraints or their lack of appeal to younger generations who have never heard of them.
“I was looking for things I thought were important enough and well-known enough that I would have a good audience for it,” he said. “And I think there are only a handful of those that are out there that I’m capable of presenting in a musically valid way.”
The production will be headed by the terrific artistic team of John Baril, the company’s music director, and Ken Cazan, a nationally recognized director who regularly works in Central City.
In the world of Broadway musicals, it doesn’t get any better than “West Side Story.” There’s little doubt that in another 50 years, this enduring masterpiece will still be thrilling audiences.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
