"West Side Story" is returning to Broadway. And it's returning to Hollywood. So we'll have two new Tonys in the near future--Isaac Powell and Ansel Elgort, respectively.
One thing I'm thinking of--in anticipation--is "Gee, Officer Krupke." This is a moment late in the show when the hoodlums gather to contemplate their own bad behavior. Like many real-world teenage brats, these characters invent fun for themselves by parodying the adults in their lives. Taking on adult personae, they wonder aloud if bad teenager behavior derives from nurture: "My brother wears a dress [so how can you expect me not to be antisocial]?"
The teens--playacting adults--also wonder if bad behavior derives from drugs: "My mom and dad are always high [so how can you expect that I would conduct myself properly]?" There's an obvious punchline here: "My mom and dad smoke so much weed...AND they won't share any of it with ME!"
A good Sondheim song is a one-act play, and "Officer Krupke" moves from the "nurture" discussion to a logical climax: "It's nature!" We're disturbed because we are bad seeds. Could any one of these hypotheses be correct? Who knows. Let's end with snarky nihilism: "Gee, Officer Krupke! Krup You!"
The thing I love about this song is the show, not tell quality. A lesser writer would have the hoodlums simply *declaring* their brattiness. Broadway is a cesspool of bad writing. It's not hard to envision a show in which characters would simply sing, in a straightforward way, "We're bad! We're bad! We're just really bad!" Sondheim has the idea of showing the kids doing something they might actually do--stage a little play--and in the process he demonstrates how bright AND obnoxious the kids are. He captures a moment from life.
Too clever by half? Sure. This was early Sondheim. But I'm excited for "West Side Story." Stay tuned!
One thing I'm thinking of--in anticipation--is "Gee, Officer Krupke." This is a moment late in the show when the hoodlums gather to contemplate their own bad behavior. Like many real-world teenage brats, these characters invent fun for themselves by parodying the adults in their lives. Taking on adult personae, they wonder aloud if bad teenager behavior derives from nurture: "My brother wears a dress [so how can you expect me not to be antisocial]?"
The teens--playacting adults--also wonder if bad behavior derives from drugs: "My mom and dad are always high [so how can you expect that I would conduct myself properly]?" There's an obvious punchline here: "My mom and dad smoke so much weed...AND they won't share any of it with ME!"
A good Sondheim song is a one-act play, and "Officer Krupke" moves from the "nurture" discussion to a logical climax: "It's nature!" We're disturbed because we are bad seeds. Could any one of these hypotheses be correct? Who knows. Let's end with snarky nihilism: "Gee, Officer Krupke! Krup You!"
The thing I love about this song is the show, not tell quality. A lesser writer would have the hoodlums simply *declaring* their brattiness. Broadway is a cesspool of bad writing. It's not hard to envision a show in which characters would simply sing, in a straightforward way, "We're bad! We're bad! We're just really bad!" Sondheim has the idea of showing the kids doing something they might actually do--stage a little play--and in the process he demonstrates how bright AND obnoxious the kids are. He captures a moment from life.
Too clever by half? Sure. This was early Sondheim. But I'm excited for "West Side Story." Stay tuned!
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