East
or West, bright is best!
In
June 50 years ago, the number one album was the soundtrack to West
Side Story, which spent 54 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts,
the longest of any other album in history. (Michael Jackson's
'Thriller' is sometimes given credit for this, but only because West
Side Story was listed on a chart for stereo albums at a time when many albums
were recorded in mono.) Elvis turned the starring role down, bet he
was kicking himself later! The film came out the year before and won
more Academy Awards than any other musical – including Best Costume
Design. The rival gangs, the Jets and Sharks, based on Shakespeare's Montagues and Capulets, from 'Romeo and Juliet', wore vibrant clothes of reds,
purples, yellow and orange, especially the Puerto Rican Sharks.
When I saw an excellent touring production of 'West Side Story' a few years ago, which followed the film format very closely, I was very amused afterwards to go in a bar close to the Theatre and see all the Jets and Sharks, even the ones who'd been killed on stage, amicably sitting together for a post-show drink!
When I saw an excellent touring production of 'West Side Story' a few years ago, which followed the film format very closely, I was very amused afterwards to go in a bar close to the Theatre and see all the Jets and Sharks, even the ones who'd been killed on stage, amicably sitting together for a post-show drink!
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