Recording of the original classic stage production on Broadway. Great fun. ( )

The original version of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's musical.

These are great songs when someone else covers them, but I find the Full Broadway Treatment to be difficult to listen to. The orchestra constantly screams "This is exciting!" - which is boring.

Writing technique: A
Writing musicality: B
Performance technique: B
Performance musicality: D
Arrangements: C
Coherence/concept: A
Pacing/listenability: D
Recording/mastering: B
Cover art: B

Enjoyment: C

GPA: 2.6/4 ( )

West Side Story. Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Compact disc. Epiphany-OviedoELCA library section 15, Adult Media. Original cast album starring Carol Lawrence as Maria and Chita Rivera as Anita.
I was introduced to this musical back in 7th grade in music class, and I fell in love with its urban intensity, Latino rhythms, and soaring love songs such as “Tonight,” and “There’s a Place for Us.” In 10th grade, I read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and with my English class went to see the newly released Franco Zeffirelli film of Romeo and Juliet with Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. Holy smokes, the stories were the same! I had known that, but suddenly I realized how well Bernstein and Sondheim translated a 16th century play into a modern, gritty urban musical drama. I was intrigued and enjoyed comparing and contrasting the two – Bernstein and Sondheim translated a rather stuffy Elizabethan tragedy into something fresh and new!
For any teen who has ever felt like an outsider, beaten down, misunderstood, or angry that his options for the future are limited by his life circumstances, West Side Story will resonate on and on. Its songs have become classics because they still speak to listeners of yearning, the need for love, the need for the promise of a future filled with peace and accomplishment. Thus it is every teen’s musical. Enjoy it with your teens, then watch the Zeffirelli version of Romeo and Juliet for a beautifully produced Renaissance cautionary tale. ( )

1-11- Act I
12-16. Act II
17- 25- Bonus Tracks: Symphonic Dances