West Side Story [Remaster] - Original Cast (CD 1998)

I was born six years after West Side Story premiered on Broadway, and I have only seen the movie version, so for me this CD is the next best thing to building a time machine to see the original stage production of the Jerome Robbins/Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim modern take on Romeo and Juliet.

Set in mid-20th Century New York City's West Side, Arthur Laurents' book tells the story of two "starcross'd lovers" -- the "American" Tony, a former member of a street gang called the Jets, and Maria, a Puerto Rican immigrant and younger sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, who are the Jets' hated rivals. Tony and Maria's budding love is contrasted with the unremmitting blood feud between the two gangs.

While an original cast recording is no substitute for having seen West Side Story on the New York stage, hearing the cast (which included Larry Kert, Chita Rivera, and Carol Lawrence) gives 21st Century listeners an aural glimpse into the brilliance of composer Bernstein and lyricist Sondheim's musical constructs.

While I love the "standards" associated with West Side Story ("Tonight," "Maria," "Somewhere"), several other songs are outstanding.

First, there's "Something's Coming," which reflects Tony's optimistic outlook as he looks to the future rather than to his past as a member of the Jets. Then there's the complicated quintet "Tonight" expresses the conflicting dreams and desires of the major characters and mixes the romantic aspects of the two pairs of lovers (Tony and Maria; Anita and Bernardo) as well as the hostility between the "American" Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.

My favorite song, "Gee Officer Krupke!", is a sardonic ode to the cluelessness of adults as seen through the cynical eyes of teenage gang members. I remember this song vividly because when I was a member of the glee club at South Miami High, Gee Officer Krupke was in our repertoire for the first concert I performed in. Its wry humor never failed to make us laugh while we were learning it, and afterwards I wanted to hear the entire playlist from West Side Story.

Thus it came to pass that I bought my first copy of West Side Story - Original Broadway Cast Recording on a vinyl LP some time during my sophomore year at South Miami High, and I remember listening to the Bernstein/Sondheim songs as I did homework or thought about a pretty girl I had a crush on or typed drafts of stories for the school paper. I practically wore out that album before I graduated from high school, and for a long time before I bought my first Magnavox CD/cassette player/AM-FM radio, the only recording I owned of West Side Story's music was the much inferior motion picture soundtrack, which covered most of the same ground as the Broadway cast recording but had a few songs with "cleaned up" lyrics.

Fortunately, Columbia, now a label within the Sony Music aegis, reissued the Broadway cast album on compact disc, digitally mastering the original analog recording in a very nice transfer. Album producer Goddard Lieberson also made sure the original LP's liner notes, which contain both a short history of the West Side Story stage production from its first run (Sept. 26, 1957 through June 27, 1959) to its national tour and second run on Broadway (April - December 1960) and various major revivals up to 1968. The liner notes also include the synopsis by George Dale and commentary on the world-wide success of the stage production and the Academy Award-winning movie version released in 1962; directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), West Side Story won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

Key Tracks: Top 10 Songs from West Side Story
(Track Number, Song Title)
1. Prologue & Jet Song
2. Something's Coming
4. Maria
5. Tonight (Duet)
6. America
7. Cool
8. One Hand, One Heart
9. Tonight (Quintet)
11. I Feel Pretty
13. Gee, Officer Krupke!

West Side Story remains a classic of American musical theater not only because the story of love in the middle of strife is so powerful, but because Leonard Bernstein's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics still have the ability to move listeners with their evocative melodies and still-relevant comments of the effects of prejudice, the harsh realities of urban life in the "land of opportunity," and the reservoirs of hope and love that reside in the human heart.