One of my all time favourite musicals is West Side Story which was on Broadway and then released as a movie in 1961. I first watched in about 1965 at age 12, and fell in love with all the characters immediately and the songs.
West Side Story was inspired by Romeo and Juliet with script by Arthur Laurents with music and lyrics by the brilliant Leornard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
Set in the Upper West Side in New York in the 1950, the story is about the rivalry between to street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Exploring the issues created between the ethnic groups was unusual in a musical at that time, but it worked…
In 1961 the musical film adaptation starring Natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn was released. Winning ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The song that moved me the most when I first heard it was ‘Maria’, and even after several reruns, that is still the case, although I also rather like ‘Something’s Coming’ and ‘Tonight’.
However, I did not really appreciate how beautiful a song it actually was, until I heard it performed by actor/singer Julian Ovenden for the BBC Proms.. WOW…
Thanks to BBC – Sung beautifully by actor and singer Julian Ovenden
Buy or rent the Movie Amazon US – And: Amazon UK
Thank you for dropping in today and if you have a favourite song from the movies let me know…sally.cronin@moyhill.com thanks Sally
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