Sondheim: "West Side Story"

Soon, a new first in Oscar history will arrive: Two women will have won Oscars for playing one character. The character is Anita; the women are Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose.

(Men have already arrived in this strange place. De Niro and Brando both have Oscars for playing The Godfather. Phoenix and Ledger both have Oscars for clowning around in Joker attire.)

Stephen Sondheim thought that form should match content--and so he doesn't *tell* us that Anita is bright. He *shows* us -- through jokes. When a friend becomes dreamy about "the city of San Juan," Anita rolls her eyes and says, "I know a boat you can get on...." When the friend praises San Juan's "hundreds of flowers in full bloom," Anita recalls San Juan's "hundreds of people in each room."

I think Sondheim liked Anita best; he liked his version of the Nurse, from "Romeo and Juliet." I think Sondheim grew exasperated when pondering Tony and Maria -- and I think he perked up when he could address Anita's concerns: "She's gonna get her kicks tonight....We'll have a private little mix tonight....[My man] will come home hot and tired....So what? Don't matter if he's tired....so long as he's hot...."

It's said that characters win Oscars; performers don't win Oscars. I'm happy that one of Sondheim's great characters will be the first fictional woman in history to net the Oscar twice--in two different decades. And: Happy birthday to SS.

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