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Broadway Guy

 Turner Classic Movies has just released a book on the first film version of "West Side Story." (The second film version was once slated for 2020, but don't hold your breath.) In celebration of the book, a few tidbits:


*Jerome Robbins gets a great deal of credit for the movie, but clearly some of that credit belongs to his co-director, Robert Wise.
*The story seems to have come from an actual news story. ("Several Teens Dead Near High-School Dance.")
*Sondheim's favorite Bernstein score isn't WSS; it's "Candide."
*People don't put WSS at the very top of the movie-musical pantheon; they save those spots for "Singin' in the Rain" and "Top Hat."
*TCM contrasts WSS with "South Pacific" and "My Fair Lady." TCM says, when you think of the films "South Pacific" and "My Fair Lady," you think, THOSE ARE FILMED VERSIONS OF THE FAMOUS MUSICALS FROM BROADWAY. But with the film WSS, you think, THAT'S A MAJOR FILM. Certainly, the film WSS made a mark at the Oscars. (The Broadway-musical version didn't do so well at the Tonys.)

I look forward to more.....

https://www.amazon.com/West-Side-Story-Sharks-Classic/dp/076246948X
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