This past weekend felt like Minnesota had transformed into a sweat lodge. And apparently this week’s forecast won’t see any relief. The air is so heavy & thick with humidity that the only way to enjoy being outside is to be immersed in water.
Growing up if there were days like this I could be found inside, curled up beside the television watching movies…and not just any movies, but old-school musicals.
My mother is an elementary school music teacher & every summer she would bring home her vast collection of musicals (VCR of course)! And one by one I would watch & re-watch all of them—Oklahoma!, The King & I, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, The Sound of Music…and so many more.
By far my favorite was West Side Story…I loved the music & costumes, had a crush on Tony and wanted to look like Maria (played by the gorgeous Natalie Wood). But a familiar panic always set in every time the “Rumble” scene started.
I wanted to jump into the screen and beg the Sharks & Jets to stop before it was too late. Don’t they know what’s going to happen?!? “Please Bernardo…drop the knife!” “Oh Riff…listen to Tony, don’t run back into the fight!”
But of course the outcome doesn’t change and you’re left with a lump in your throat as the final credits roll. That lump returned on Sunday when I saw Broadway’s West Side Story at the Orpheum Theater here in Minneapolis.
It was not the best or even most entertaining live musical I have seen. And I wasn’t totally thrilled by the vocals of some of the actors. But regardless it was the same powerful & heart rendering storyline, touching songs and affecting characters I had grown to love as a child.
I felt a bit like my younger self relishing in the vibrant colors & music, while trying hard not to sing along to “America” and “I Feel Pretty”—transported until I almost forgot about the inevitable outcome. But it comes no matter how hard I will the characters to change…”Put the gun down Chino!”
West Side Story continues to be a compelling & relevant musical today…fifty years after the film was made—and I imagine it always will be.
{Click photos for their source}
