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Home , Norman Taurog, Tonight Quintet

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO THE American MUSICAL 787

GAME (1949), THREE LITTLE WORDS (1950), plays and musicals, such as A La Broadway and SUMMER STOCK (1950). In the 1950s he also (1911), Vera Violetta (1911), A Winsome produced a number of feature films, includ- Widow (1912), and The Mimic World (1921}. ing the musicals Dangerous When Wet (1953) West developed her satiric vamp persona and Jupiter's Darling (1955), and both writing singing ribald songs in vaudeville and was and producing the musicals Everything I Have already becoming well known by the time Is Yours (1952) and I Love Melvin (1953). His she made headlines in 1926 for the play Sex, other writing credits include the musicals THE which she wrote, produced, directed, and TOAST OF NEW ORLEANS (1950), Texas Carnival starred in. Her infamy was established and (1951), LOVELY TO LOOK AT (1952), and Where she starred on Broadway in her own shows, the Boys Are most memorably DiamondLil (1928), which she reprised in New York in 1949 and 1951. ii WE'RE A/or DRESSING (Paramount 1934). West made her screen debut in 1932, usually moved from crooner to light writing her own dialogue for her vehicles comic leading man with this silly but agreeable and always battling over the censors over film in which he was charmingly offbeat as the what she could say and do on screen. Most carefree outsider, a persona he would perfect of her movies were musicals and she got to over the years. Horace Jackson, Frances Martin, introduce some standards such as "My Old and George Marion, Jr. adapted J. M. Barrie's Flame." Her screen musicals are SHE DONE Edwardian comedy The Admirable Crichton HIM WRONG (1933), I'm No Angel (1933), into a musical comedy about the spoiled heir- Belle of the Nineties (1934), Gain' to Town ess Doris Worthington () (1935), Klondike Annie (1936), Go West, who is sailing the South Seas with some of Young Man (1936), Every Day's a Holiday her friends when they are shipwrecked on a (1937), and The Heat's On (1943). After desert island and it is the lowly sailor Stephen decades of being out of the public eye (but Jones (Crosby) who is the only one with the not forgotten), West returned to the lime- wherewithal to take charge. Doris resents him light in the 1970s doing concerts in America at first, but after a few songs and walks along and England and making the nonmusical the moonlit beach, she succumbs to his charms. movies Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Sextet Also on board were , LEON (1978). Autobiographies: Good Had Nothing ERROL, and , with naturalists to Do With It (1959); Life, Sex and ESP and studying (1975); biographies: Mae West: It Ain't No flora and fauna on the island and providing Sin, Simon Louvish (2006); Becoming Mae most of the jokes. It was a daffy adventure and West, Emily Wortis (1997). one, under NORMAN TAUROG'S direction, that worked effortlessly. HARRY REVEL (music) and /^ WEST SIDE STORY inter Garden Theatre MACK GORDON (lyrics) penned the songs and i95?X_AJarnilia£ favorite, the they were equally expert: the touching ballads powerful musical play by "She Reminds Me of You" and "Once in a Blue (book), (music), and Moon," the sly "May I?," the merry "Love (lyrics) was quite bold Thy Neighbor," and the lullaby "Goodnight, and daring in its day, breaking from conven- Lovely Little Lady," which Crosby sang to his tion and utilizing dance in new and exciting pet bear. ways. Plot: The street rivalry between the gang of WEST, MAE [born Mary Jane West] (1893- Puerto Rican immigrants known as the Sharks 1980). Stage and film performer and writer. and the native-New York gang called the The celebrated busty, blonde sex symbol Jets has intensified over the summer. The Jet who was more a parody than a seriously leader Riff tries to get Tony, who co-founded enticing siren, she found fame on Broadway the gang with him, to get more involved but and in Hollywood and then remained an Tony is restless and is outgrowing street fight- American icon for decades afterwards. ing. Riff plans to challenge the Sharks at the West was born in Brooklyn, the daughter dance where the two gangs and their girls will of a heavyweight boxer, and was on the be together and it is there that Tony sees Maria, stage at the age of five, later touring in kid the newly arrived immigrant who is the sister roles in melodramas such as Little Nell of of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The two the Marchioness, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage are immediately drawn to each other and that Patch, and East Lynne. By 1911 she was night they meet on the fire escape outside her on Broadway playing supporting roles in bedroom window and profess their love for American WEST SIDE STORY 789 WEST SIDE STORY

ences for 732 performances. After touring the ith country, the same cast returned to Broadway in 1960 for another 249 performances. In 1964 the tragic tale in the form of a Broadway musical. New York Light Opera and direc- Instead of an overture, the piece opened with tor Gerald Freedman recreated the staging and a danced prologue that showed how the gang design of the original and the cast included rivalry developed and grew. The first act ended Julia Migenes (Maria), Don McKay (Tony), not with a musical number but with two dead Luba Lisa (Anita), James Moore (Riff), and Jay bodies on stage and police sirens blaring. The Norman (Bernardo). LEE THEODORE recreated dancing was sometime joyous but just as often 's choreography and direc- was filledwit h tension and frustration. The score tion for the 1968 Lincoln Center revival that utilized opera techniques, such as the complex featured Kurt Peterson and Victoria Mallory "Tonight Quintet" that contained the separate as the tragic lovers. The most popular revival musical thoughts of various characters before was the 1980 Broadway production in which the rumble. There are no musical numbers for Jerome Robbins recreated his original staging the last portion of the show, relying instead on and choreography with television star DEBBIE dialogue in order to avoid a neatly concluded ALLEN featured as Anita. The production ran finale. "Maria," "Tonight," and "Somewhere" 333 performances. West Side Story remains a were the most popular numbers from the score frequently produced musical not only in the but several of the other songs became just as States, but around the world, with the show well known even if they could not work out- having an international appeal and a story that side of the context of the musical. The score translates well for different cultures. allows for some relief from the grim events tak- (it West Side Story (Mirisch/United ing place, but even the mocking "Gee, Officer Artists 1961) has been mockingly called "the Krupke" and "America" have a bitter subtext Ben-Hur of movie musicals" and there is a big- to them, with the wisecracking and mockery ness and majesty about the film that clamors just a cover for truly deep frustration. JEROME for greatness. But it took such confidence to ROBBINS'S masterful direction and choreogra- pull off a screen version that relied on dance West Side Story. Theatre dance had been used to illustrate many emotions over the years but never phy were major factors in making the problem- and operatic-like singing to tell its story. tension and pent-up frustration as it was seen in West Side Story. The number "Cool" (pictured above) atic show effective. There was so much dance Co-director worked with co- allowed the street gang known as the Jets to explode into modern jazz dance as they tried to hide the anger in the piece that PETER GENNARO was brought director and choreographer Robbins to create and bitterness within them. Under Jerome Robins' direction and choreography, dance was used to explore on as co-choreographer. HAROLD PRINCE a movie that was gritty and real and yet was feelings usually reserved for dialogue or song. The photo shows the replacement cast of the Broadway and Robert E. Griffith produced the musical, very stylized. Parts of the film were shot on production with original cast member Lee Theodore (fourth from the right) as the tomboy Anybodys. which did not receive unanimous raves but was location in Manhattan, other parts in the studio, (Photofest) much talked about and was able to find audi- yet there is a consistent sense of style through- out the movie that works. ERNEST LEHMAN'S screenplay sticks close to the stage libretto and (^_West Side Story Musical Numbers * the entire stage score was used, although some Casts for West Side Story ^ "Prologue" numbers changed positions in the story and ^^M^^^^^^""^*1*" were sung by different characters. The very Character 1957 Broadway f 96f film 1980 Broadway "Jet Song" non-Hispanic NATALIE WOOD played Maria Maria CAROL LAWRENCE NATALIE WOOD Josie de Guzman "Something's Coming" effectively (her singing was dubbed by MARNI Tony LARRY KERT Richard Beymer Ken Marshall "Dance at the Gym" NIXON), but Richard Beymer (singing dubbed Anita CHITA RIVERA RITA MORENO DEBBIE ALLEN "Maria" by Jim Bryat) was a bland Tony and the love Riff Mickey Calin Russ TAMBLYN James J. Mellon "Tonight" scenes never reached the heights that they had Bernardo Keti LeRoy GEORGE CHAKIRIS Hector Jaime Mercado "America" on Broadway. The supporting cast, however, Doc Art Smith Ned Glass Sammy Smith "Cool" "One Hand, One Heart" was outstanding. Considering the acting, sing- "Tonight Quintet" ing, and dancing demands of the gang mem- each other. A rumble between the two gangs is Anita and in anger she tells them that Maria "The Rumble" bers and their girls, it becomes clear that the planned and when Maria hears of it she makes has been killed by her jealous fiance Chino. "" movie works as well as it does because of them. Tony promise he will try and stop it. When When Tony gets word of this, he goes looking "Somewhere" West Side Story was a box office and critical Tony attempts to do so, Bernardo stabs and for Chino asking to be killed as well. Chino "Gee, Officer Krupke" hit and the stage work became better known kills Riff and in anger Tony kills Bernardo. shoots Tony, he dies in Maria's arms, and then "" because of it. Before the film was released, the While the police are looking for Tony, Maria she takes the gun and vents her anger on both "I Have a Love" musical was thought different and daring; after sends her friend Anita to take a message to gangs, accusing them and their rivalry for all "Taunting" the movie, it joined the ranks of the Broadway Tony through the Jets, but the gang taunts that has happened. classics.