It's nearly alarming how charming West Side Story remains long after the film's 1961 release. Composer Leonard Bernstein and tyro lyricist Stephen Sondheim update Romeo and Juliet with beautiful balladry ("Maria," "Tonight," "Somewhere") and songs that deliver incisive social commentary with complex rhymes and plenty of jokes ("Jet Song," "America," "Gee, Officer Krupke"). The New York Philharmonic gives the Broadway classic a special kick, especially during Bernstein's lively Stravinsky-influenced instrumentals, including "Prologue," "The Rumble," and the memorable "Dance at the Gym."
Featured On
- Irving Berlin, Bernadette Peters, Tom Wopat & Ron Holgate
- Rodgers & Hammerstein, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, José Carreras & Mandy Patinkin
- Cole Porter, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Michael Berresse & Amy Spanger
- Cole Porter, Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller & André Previn
- Andrew Lloyd Webber & Original London Cast
- Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kellie O'Hara & Ken Watanabe
- Rodgers & Hammerstein, Renée Flemming, Jessie Mueller & Joshua Henry