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reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the publisher. THR.com PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.Memorable moments
from a storied history90 Years of THR
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 72 AUGUST 21, 2019
FRIEDMAN-ABELES/MPTVIMAGES.COMLeonard Bernstein rehearsed with West Side Story’s stage cast as Stephen Sondheim accompanied them on the piano. Right: THR’s Sept. 30, 1957, review.West Side Story Was a Musical on Gang Violence in ’57
For a Broadway musical that
debuted in 1957, West Si d e Stor y
manages to stay in the news.
Leonard Bernstein, who wrote
the score, had his centenary
celebrated in 2018 and would
have been 101 this Aug. 25; its
producer Hal Prince, 91, died
July 31; a Broadway revival is
coming; and Steven Spielberg is
in production on a new screen
version that’s said to hew closer
to the stage production than the
1961 Robert Wise-directed film.
Bernstein had been working on
West Si d e Story since 1949, when
choreographer Jerome Robbins
casually mentioned the idea of
doing “Romeo and Juliet set in the
slums.” Bernstein, then 39, com-
posed the music while Stephen
Sondheim, then 27, was hired topen the lyrics. The deal was that
music and lyrics together would
receive 4 percent of the royal-
ties. Bernstein got 2 percent for
doing the score and 1 percent for
contributing to the lyrics. He later
offered to take his name off the
lyrics — which Sondheim had
written virtually alone — and
divide the royalties evenly. But
Sondheim said the only thing
he wanted was the full lyrics
credit. (Years later he admitted,
“I’m sorry I opened my mouth.”)
The score, as it turned out,
was filled with hits and would
become incredibly profitable for
Bernstein. But back in 1957, he
was just coming off the Broadway
flop Candide and was depressed.
He was worried that West Si d e
Story, with its downbeat tale oftwo star-crossed lovers from
warring communities destined
for tragedy after a fatal gunshot,
would fail too. When it performed
well in out-of-town previews, he
was ecstatic. From Washington,
D.C., where it played at the
National Theatre, he wrote his
wife, Felicia, to say, “Everyone’s
coming, my dear, even Nixon
and 35 admirals.” The Hollywood
Reporter gave the Broadway open-
ing a so-so review, saying it “was
at times brilliantly theatrical. But
there are times where the jazzed
up dramatics, the frenetic ballet-
ics and the cacophonous music
remind the viewer of the over-
stylized German theatre of the
’20s.” Story was a smash hit that
ran for 732 performances before
going on tour. But it lost the Tonyfor best musical to The Music
Man — now headed for its own
Broadway revival, starring Hugh
Jackman, in 2020. — BILL HIGGINS119947 7 1 9944888 19944999 19551 500 199511 1 1 959 2 2 119953 1954 11955 1956 1957 1958 191959 199960 1961 1 19626 1969 3 1996664 1919655 1966 6 1 99969 77