Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story is underway – but could it possibly compare with the original?
The musical’s first film version in 1961 became an instant classic, winning a whopping 10 Academy Awards. Whereas we look forward to the new telling, it certainly does have large shoes to fill.
Having begun filming in June this year, the production of Spielberg’s West Side Story is well under way. Its current release date is set at 18 December 2020, and its first cast photographs have garnered much interest from musical fans of all tastes.
An official cast shot from the new West Side Story
The following five excerpts from the original will hopefully serve as a recap as to why the story, and its heart-wrenching tragedy, remains so poignant, and so beautiful.
How the story broke new ground in 1957
The stage production of West Side Story ushered in a new era in musical theatre. The collaborative efforts of four incomparably talented individuals created a gritty and tragic portrait of burgeoning gang violence in poor urban neighbourhoods.
1. The music behind it all
Leonard Bernstein, already a towering figure in the American music establishment at the time, may have ensured his legacy through the musical.
His compositions were thoroughly modern and jazzy, quite unlike anything that came before.
He made use of Latin beats and fluently contrasted styles in accordance with the demands made by characterisation and the story itself.
2. A revolution in dance
The originator of the musical’s concept, Jerome Robbins, also served as the first stage production’s director and choreographer.
The intensity and amount of dance, combined with its technical challenges, set the musical ablaze from the very first scene: starting with a few snaps of the fingers, ending in a dramatic and frenzied fight between two rival gangs.
The song, “America”, is but one example of the exquistely lively dance choreographed by Robbins. It is essentially a dialogue offering opposing views of the benefits of being an immigrant in America.
3. Interpretations
There are as many interpretations of the musical as there are fans, and the fundamental question is this – is it primarily a love story in which a tragedy is brought about by hatred; or is it a tale that underscores a larger moral, that hatred kills off the best side of ourselves, the part capable of all encompassing love?
4. “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” – Prologue to Romeo and Juliet
As was often the case, gang affiliation was drawn along ethnic lines – in this case between the newly immigrant Puerto Rican ‘Sharks’ and the white ‘Jets’.
Our Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria, suffer a forbidden love. Maria’s brother, Barnardo, is the leader of the Sharks, while Tony is trying, but still unable, to break completely free from the Jets (led by his friend, Riff).
Tony and Maria meet at a community dance, and it’s love at first sight.
The handsome, love struck Tony singing “Maria”
Afterwards, an entranced Tony finds his way to Maria’s building, and what ensues is one of musical theatre’s most treasured moments – the balcony scene.
Romeo: “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun”
The two star-crossed lovers sing “Tonight”, professing their mutual feelings. It would seem that without the intervention of a larger, malicious force, their future happiness would be guaranteed.
There is a truly malicious force at work, however: the two gangs agree to a fight the next night under a highway bridge. Bernardo is set to slog it out with Riff’s second in command, Diesel (Ice in the film version).
Maria convinces Tony to stop the fight, and his efforts at procuring a peaceful outcome are mocked by Maria’s brother.
Ultimately, Tony’s attempted intercession leads to Riff being stabbed by Bernardo. This in turn elicits a rage in Tony, and he stabs and kills the Sharks’ leader.
An in love Maria has a few moments of joy before being told about Bernardo’s death – at the hands of Tony
The second act unravels the consequences of the unnecessary deaths. In a cruel twist of fate, Tony is led to believe that Maria has been shot by Bernardo’s friend and gang cohort, Chino, as an act of revenge for her relationship with her brother’s killer.
In utter despair, Tony seeks out Chino so that he, too, may suffer the same fate. As he sees Maria, alive and well, he is shot.
Tony dies in her arms.
The end scene cannot but leave a lump in your throat, if not a tear in your eye.
“You all killed him”
5. “Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife” – Prologue to Romeo and Juliet
The musical ends with the Jets picking up Tony’s lifeless body, and the Sharks join in to help carry him.
The hatred ceases too late, and it has taken a cycle of increasing violence – leading to three deaths – for the strife to conclude.
A timely remake?
Given the context of the world today, with all its hatreds and divisions, the Spielberg remake may serve to convince some that truly, hatred does bury the best we have to offer – a life filled with real love.
