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West Side Story now seems so firmly enthronedas one of the major classics of the musicaltheatre that it’s fascinating to remind ourselvesof some things:

It almost was a totally different projectaltogether.

The show nearly didn’t get produced.The original reaction to the project wasn’t

ecstatic.It all started with Jerome Robbins – which is

why this was the first production ever thatcarried an ‘Entire production conceived, directedand choreographed by …’ credit attached to it.

Robbins had long been drawn to the story ofRomeo and Juliet, especially in its balleticversion, but in 1949 he was having an affair withthe actor Montgomery Clift and Clift was havingtrouble handling the role of Romeo in an actingclass assignment.

Together, he and Robbins evolved the ideathat it might be more relevant to think of theMontagues and Capulets as New York City streetgangs, but Robbins, with his deeply rootedJewish heritage and sense of being an outsider,took it further.

Before long, he was pitching composerLeonard Bernstein and librettist Arthur Laurentson the idea of a new kind of musical, serious inintent, heavily driven by dance, that would

center on the rivalry between two gangs inManhattan: one made up of Irish and ItalianCatholics, the other of Jewish immigrants.

Robbins saw it all happening on one of thoseinfrequent occasions when the religious festivalsof Easter and Passover coincided, to up themythic and religious quotient even further.

The title they came up with was ‘East SideStory’.

Bernstein was immediately the mostenthusiastic and, supposedly, some of themusicals themes he created in 1949 remainedwith the show all along.

But Laurents found it tough going. “It allstarted to seem sort of stale, sort of Abie’s IrishRose,” he said, evoking the spirit of the wildlypopular 1922 pot-boiler by Anne Nichols thatoutlined the misadventures of a Jewish boy andhis Irish love in the New York of the 1920s.

And the mercurial Robbins, overloaded withwork and quick to bridle at any lack ofenthusiasm, went elsewhere, but he beganworking out some of these themes in his 1949ballet, The Guests, which dealt with romanticcouples divided by ethnic diversity.

But then, in 1955, fate struck again. Laurentsand Bernstein found themselves on differentassignments in Hollywood and one day, sittingoutside at the pool of the Chateau Marmont,

horrifying, the workmanship is admirable,” saidThe New York Times, while the Herald Tribune,meaning to be laudatory, used words like“radioactive fallout … savage … blasted apart.”

All of this meant that the show’s initial runwas a solid, but not overwhelming 734performances and that – at that year’s TonyAwards – the crowd-pleasing The Music Manswept all the major awards except forchoreography and set design, which went toWest Side Story’s Robbins and Oliver Smith.

But musical theatre history is often writtenwith the hour hand, not the minute hand, andsubsequent revivals – as well as the Oscarwinning bonanza that was the 1961 film version– have seen to it that this is a show which willnever leave our consciousness.

An appropriate bonus to this recording is

music from the 1954 film, On the Waterfront,which also dealt with the savage milieu of theManhattan streets, only this one seen from thepoint of view of organized labour rather thanstreet gangs.

Despite winning the Oscar for best motionpicture score, only a small portion of the originalsoundtrack appeared on record, as filler to anobscure musical two years after the fact. It’sincluded here along with two English popversions of the main theme, one with poeticlyrics by John Latouche and a hauntingperformance by Eve Boswell.

Bernstein always was the man in 20thcentury music, but the mid-1950s were certainlyhis moment.

Richard Ouzounian

West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein • Lyrics by Stephen SondheimOriginal Cast, 1957

Also available in the Naxos Musicals series ...

120887bk West Side Story:MASTER 3+3 29/6/09 11:29 AM Page 1

8.1208873

they started exploring works they might dotogether.

Laurents noted the headline on the morningpaper: ‘More Mayhem From Chicano Gangs’.

Suddenly, their project from 1949 acquirednew life, with Bernstein hearing Latin rhythms inhis head and Laurents realizing that a whole newlevel of social awareness could be added to theshow.

Robbins came out shortly to work on a filmand agreed the idea was a sound one; they keptit in Manhattan, but just moved it across town towhere the troubled Hispanic gangs were dukingit out with the whites who had lived there foryears. And so, West Side Story was conceived.

Notice, I didn’t say ‘born’, because that nearlydidn’t happen. The creation of the work went assmoothly as one could expect with such threeegotists, although things got a little smootherwhen a 25 year old named Stephen Sondheimwas brought in to co-write the lyrics with theoverworked Bernstein. (After the Washingtonopening, Bernstein removed his name, leavingSondheim sole lyricist, an honour the latter hasconsidered a mixed blessing over the years,regarding his feelings about some of the show’smore simplistic lyrics.)

But when the work was completed, they hadtrouble raising money for such an edgy project.And lead producer Cheryl Crawford increasinglylost hope, finally pulling out and abandoning theproject a month before it was to go intorehearsals.

Sondheim called his good friend, Hal Prince,on the phone in Boston, where the producer

was having troubles with his own musical, NewGirl in Town. But hearing the sound of fellowartists in pain, Prince and his partner, BobbyGriffith, listened to the score and agreed to putthe show on the stage.

Then the hard part started.Robbins had always been known as a

combination of great artist and horrible humanbeing, but both those qualities seemed tointensify as he worked on West Side Story. Hesplit the cast into groups, according to the gangsthey were playing, and encouraged personalantipathy.

He drove individual performers so brutallyand so hard that one day, while giving notes,Robbins began walking backwards towards theorchestra pit and nobody warned him of histrajectory. He suffered a humiliating fall.

But all of that energy, all of that tension paidoff in the end and you can hear it on the originalcast recording. The gangs snarl and snap like fewhave ever done since and the anger underneaththe love comes through.

Larry Kert was a last minute choice as Tony(“They were looking for a big blond Polish guyand they got a short dark Jewish one,” quippedKert at the time) but his voice soars gloriously,especially in the song added for him duringrehearsals, Something’s Coming.

Carol Lawrence sings with purity and beauty,making her numbers a clear standout and ChitaRivera sizzles in the style she embodies to this day.

But when it opened on Broadway on26 September 1957, the reviews were admiringbut not hit-making. “Although the material is

horrifying, the workmanship is admirable,” saidThe New York Times, while the Herald Tribune,meaning to be laudatory, used words like“radioactive fallout … savage … blasted apart.”

All of this meant that the show’s initial runwas a solid, but not overwhelming 734performances and that – at that year’s TonyAwards – the crowd-pleasing The Music Manswept all the major awards except forchoreography and set design, which went toWest Side Story’s Robbins and Oliver Smith.

But musical theatre history is often writtenwith the hour hand, not the minute hand, andsubsequent revivals – as well as the Oscarwinning bonanza that was the 1961 film version– have seen to it that this is a show which willnever leave our consciousness.

An appropriate bonus to this recording is

music from the 1954 film, On the Waterfront,which also dealt with the savage milieu of theManhattan streets, only this one seen from thepoint of view of organized labour rather thanstreet gangs.

Despite winning the Oscar for best motionpicture score, only a small portion of the originalsoundtrack appeared on record, as filler to anobscure musical two years after the fact. It’sincluded here along with two English popversions of the main theme, one with poeticlyrics by John Latouche and a hauntingperformance by Eve Boswell.

Bernstein always was the man in 20thcentury music, but the mid-1950s were certainlyhis moment.

Richard Ouzounian

West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein • Lyrics by Stephen SondheimOriginal Cast, 1957

Also available in the Naxos Musicals series ...

120887bk West Side Story:MASTER 3+3 29/6/09 11:29 AM Page 1

8.1208872 8.1208873 8.1208874

West Side Story now seems so firmly enthronedas one of the major classics of the musicaltheatre that it’s fascinating to remind ourselvesof some things:

It almost was a totally different projectaltogether.

The show nearly didn’t get produced.The original reaction to the project wasn’t

ecstatic.It all started with Jerome Robbins – which is

why this was the first production ever thatcarried an ‘Entire production conceived, directedand choreographed by …’ credit attached to it.

Robbins had long been drawn to the story ofRomeo and Juliet, especially in its balleticversion, but in 1949 he was having an affair withthe actor Montgomery Clift and Clift was havingtrouble handling the role of Romeo in an actingclass assignment.

Together, he and Robbins evolved the ideathat it might be more relevant to think of theMontagues and Capulets as New York City streetgangs, but Robbins, with his deeply rootedJewish heritage and sense of being an outsider,took it further.

Before long, he was pitching composerLeonard Bernstein and librettist Arthur Laurentson the idea of a new kind of musical, serious inintent, heavily driven by dance, that would

center on the rivalry between two gangs inManhattan: one made up of Irish and ItalianCatholics, the other of Jewish immigrants.

Robbins saw it all happening on one of thoseinfrequent occasions when the religious festivalsof Easter and Passover coincided, to up themythic and religious quotient even further.

The title they came up with was ‘East SideStory’.

Bernstein was immediately the mostenthusiastic and, supposedly, some of themusicals themes he created in 1949 remainedwith the show all along.

But Laurents found it tough going. “It allstarted to seem sort of stale, sort of Abie’s IrishRose,” he said, evoking the spirit of the wildlypopular 1922 pot-boiler by Anne Nichols thatoutlined the misadventures of a Jewish boy andhis Irish love in the New York of the 1920s.

And the mercurial Robbins, overloaded withwork and quick to bridle at any lack ofenthusiasm, went elsewhere, but he beganworking out some of these themes in his 1949ballet, The Guests, which dealt with romanticcouples divided by ethnic diversity.

But then, in 1955, fate struck again. Laurentsand Bernstein found themselves on differentassignments in Hollywood and one day, sittingoutside at the pool of the Chateau Marmont,

they started exploring works they might dotogether.

Laurents noted the headline on the morningpaper: ‘More Mayhem From Chicano Gangs’.

Suddenly, their project from 1949 acquirednew life, with Bernstein hearing Latin rhythms inhis head and Laurents realizing that a whole newlevel of social awareness could be added to theshow.

Robbins came out shortly to work on a filmand agreed the idea was a sound one; they keptit in Manhattan, but just moved it across town towhere the troubled Hispanic gangs were dukingit out with the whites who had lived there foryears. And so, West Side Story was conceived.

Notice, I didn’t say ‘born’, because that nearlydidn’t happen. The creation of the work went assmoothly as one could expect with such threeegotists, although things got a little smootherwhen a 25 year old named Stephen Sondheimwas brought in to co-write the lyrics with theoverworked Bernstein. (After the Washingtonopening, Bernstein removed his name, leavingSondheim sole lyricist, an honour the latter hasconsidered a mixed blessing over the years,regarding his feelings about some of the show’smore simplistic lyrics.)

But when the work was completed, they hadtrouble raising money for such an edgy project.And lead producer Cheryl Crawford increasinglylost hope, finally pulling out and abandoning theproject a month before it was to go intorehearsals.

Sondheim called his good friend, Hal Prince,on the phone in Boston, where the producer

was having troubles with his own musical, NewGirl in Town. But hearing the sound of fellowartists in pain, Prince and his partner, BobbyGriffith, listened to the score and agreed to putthe show on the stage.

Then the hard part started.Robbins had always been known as a

combination of great artist and horrible humanbeing, but both those qualities seemed tointensify as he worked on West Side Story. Hesplit the cast into groups, according to the gangsthey were playing, and encouraged personalantipathy.

He drove individual performers so brutallyand so hard that one day, while giving notes,Robbins began walking backwards towards theorchestra pit and nobody warned him of histrajectory. He suffered a humiliating fall.

But all of that energy, all of that tension paidoff in the end and you can hear it on the originalcast recording. The gangs snarl and snap like fewhave ever done since and the anger underneaththe love comes through.

Larry Kert was a last minute choice as Tony(“They were looking for a big blond Polish guyand they got a short dark Jewish one,” quippedKert at the time) but his voice soars gloriously,especially in the song added for him duringrehearsals, Something’s Coming.

Carol Lawrence sings with purity and beauty,making her numbers a clear standout and ChitaRivera sizzles in the style she embodies to this day.

But when it opened on Broadway on26 September 1957, the reviews were admiringbut not hit-making. “Although the material is

horrifying, the workmanship is admirable,” saidThe New York Times, while the Herald Tribune,meaning to be laudatory, used words like“radioactive fallout … savage … blasted apart.”

All of this meant that the show’s initial runwas a solid, but not overwhelming 734performances and that – at that year’s TonyAwards – the crowd-pleasing The Music Manswept all the major awards except forchoreography and set design, which went toWest Side Story’s Robbins and Oliver Smith.

But musical theatre history is often writtenwith the hour hand, not the minute hand, andsubsequent revivals – as well as the Oscarwinning bonanza that was the 1961 film version– have seen to it that this is a show which willnever leave our consciousness.

An appropriate bonus to this recording is

music from the 1954 film, On the Waterfront,which also dealt with the savage milieu of theManhattan streets, only this one seen from thepoint of view of organized labour rather thanstreet gangs.

Despite winning the Oscar for best motionpicture score, only a small portion of the originalsoundtrack appeared on record, as filler to anobscure musical two years after the fact. It’sincluded here along with two English popversions of the main theme, one with poeticlyrics by John Latouche and a hauntingperformance by Eve Boswell.

Bernstein always was the man in 20thcentury music, but the mid-1950s were certainlyhis moment.

Richard Ouzounian

West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein • Lyrics by Stephen SondheimOriginal Cast, 1957

Also available in the Naxos Musicals series ...

8.120846 8.120875 8.120885

These titles are not for retail sale in the USA

120887bk West Side Story:MASTER 3+3 29/6/09 11:29 AM Page 1

8.1208875 8.1208876

The JetsRiff (The Leader) Mickey CalinTony (His Friend) Larry KertAction Eddie RollA-Rab Tony MordenteBaby John David WintersSnowboy Grover DaleBig Deal Martin CharninDiesel Hank BrunjesGee-Tar Tommy AbbottMouthpiece Frank GreenTiger Lowell Harris

Their GirlsGraziella Wilma CurleyVelma Carole D’AndreaMinnie Nanette RosenClarice Marilyn D’HonauPauline Julie OserAnybodys Lee Becker

The SharksBernardo (The Leader) Ken Le RoyMaria (His Sister) Carol LawrenceAnita (His Girl) Chita RiveraChino (His Friend) Jamie SanchezPepe George MarcyIndio Noel SchwartzLuis Al De SioAnxious Gene GavinNibbles Ronnie LeeJuano Jay NormanToro Erne CastaldoMoose Jack Murray

Their Girls Rosalia Marilyn CooperConsuelo Reri GristTeresita Carmen GutierrezFrancisca Elizabeth TaylorEstella Lynn RossMargarita Liane Plane

The AdultsDoc Art SmithSchrank Arch JohnsonKrupke William BramleyGlad Hand John Harkins

West Side Story Original CastWest Side Story(Leonard Bernstein–Stephen Sondheim)

1. Prologue 3:51Orchestra

2. Jet Song 2:06The Jets

3. Something’s Coming 2:31Larry Kert

4. The Dance At The Gym 3:00Orchestra

5. Maria 2:36Larry Kert

6. Tonight 3:51Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence

7. America 4:32Chita Rivera, Marilyn Cooper, Reri Grist & Shark Girls

8. Cool 3:58Mickey Calin & The Jets

9. One Hand, One Heart 2:59Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence

10. Tonight (Quintet) 3:39Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Chita Rivera, Ken Le Roy, Mickey Calin

11. The Rumble 2:40Jets, Sharks & Orchestra

12. I Feel Pretty 2:46Carol Lawrence, Marilyn Cooper, Carmen Gutierrez, Elizabeth Taylor

13. Somewhere (Ballet) 7:31Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Reri Grist & Ensemble

14. Gee, Officer Krupke! 4:01Eddie Roll, Grover Dale & The Jets

15. A Boy Like That 2:07Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence

16. I Have A Love 2:08Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence

17. Finale 1:56Ensemble

Orchestra conducted by Max GobermanRecorded 29 September 1957, New York Columbia OS 2001 (stereo)

On The Waterfront18. On The Waterfront: Themes 5:25

(Leonard Bernstein) Morris Stoloff conducting the Columbia Pictures OrchestraDecca DL 8396. mx MG 5121Recorded 1954, Hollywood

19. On The Waterfront 2:38(Leonard Bernstein–John Latouche) Eve Boswell with Ron Goodwin & His OrchestraParlophone R 3913, mx CE 15099Recorded 1954, London

20. On The Waterfront 2:57(Leonard Bernstein) Ron Goodwin & His OrchestraParlophone R 3923, mx CE 15074-2ARecorded 1954, London

Transfers & Production: David Lennick • Digital Restoration: Graham Newton

Cover design based on images © Matt Ragen (background façade), Nastiakru (couple) and Dimitar Marinov (dancers); all from Dreamstime.com.

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The JetsRiff (The Leader) Mickey CalinTony (His Friend) Larry KertAction Eddie RollA-Rab Tony MordenteBaby John David WintersSnowboy Grover DaleBig Deal Martin CharninDiesel Hank BrunjesGee-Tar Tommy AbbottMouthpiece Frank GreenTiger Lowell Harris

Their GirlsGraziella Wilma CurleyVelma Carole D’AndreaMinnie Nanette RosenClarice Marilyn D’HonauPauline Julie OserAnybodys Lee Becker

The SharksBernardo (The Leader) Ken Le RoyMaria (His Sister) Carol LawrenceAnita (His Girl) Chita RiveraChino (His Friend) Jamie SanchezPepe George MarcyIndio Noel SchwartzLuis Al De SioAnxious Gene GavinNibbles Ronnie LeeJuano Jay NormanToro Erne CastaldoMoose Jack Murray

Their Girls Rosalia Marilyn CooperConsuelo Reri GristTeresita Carmen GutierrezFrancisca Elizabeth TaylorEstella Lynn RossMargarita Liane Plane

The AdultsDoc Art SmithSchrank Arch JohnsonKrupke William BramleyGlad Hand John Harkins

West Side Story Original CastWest Side Story(Leonard Bernstein–Stephen Sondheim)

1. Prologue 3:51Orchestra

2. Jet Song 2:06The Jets

3. Something’s Coming 2:31Larry Kert

4. The Dance At The Gym 3:00Orchestra

5. Maria 2:36Larry Kert

6. Tonight 3:51Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence

7. America 4:32Chita Rivera, Marilyn Cooper, Reri Grist & Shark Girls

8. Cool 3:58Mickey Calin & The Jets

9. One Hand, One Heart 2:59Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence

10. Tonight (Quintet) 3:39Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Chita Rivera, Ken Le Roy, Mickey Calin

11. The Rumble 2:40Jets, Sharks & Orchestra

12. I Feel Pretty 2:46Carol Lawrence, Marilyn Cooper, Carmen Gutierrez, Elizabeth Taylor

13. Somewhere (Ballet) 7:31Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence, Reri Grist & Ensemble

14. Gee, Officer Krupke! 4:01Eddie Roll, Grover Dale & The Jets

15. A Boy Like That 2:07Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence

16. I Have A Love 2:08Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence

17. Finale 1:56Ensemble

Orchestra conducted by Max GobermanRecorded 29 September 1957, New York Columbia OS 2001 (stereo)

On The Waterfront18. On The Waterfront: Themes 5:25

(Leonard Bernstein) Morris Stoloff conducting the Columbia Pictures OrchestraDecca DL 8396. mx MG 5121Recorded 1954, Hollywood

19. On The Waterfront 2:38(Leonard Bernstein–John Latouche) Eve Boswell with Ron Goodwin & His OrchestraParlophone R 3913, mx CE 15099Recorded 1954, London

20. On The Waterfront 2:57(Leonard Bernstein) Ron Goodwin & His OrchestraParlophone R 3923, mx CE 15074-2ARecorded 1954, London

Transfers & Production: David Lennick • Digital Restoration: Graham Newton

Cover design based on images © Matt Ragen (background façade), Nastiakru (couple) and Dimitar Marinov (dancers); all from Dreamstime.com.

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Transfers & Production: David Lennick • Digital Restoration: Graham NewtonNOTES AND FULL RECORDING DETAILS INCLUDEDwww.naxos.com Total Time 68:19� & � 2009 Naxos Rights International Ltd. Design: Ron HoaresNot for Sale in the United States Made in Germany

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1. Prologue ORCHESTRA 3:512. Jet Song THE JETS 2:063. Something’s Coming TONY 2:314. The Dance At The Gym ORCHESTRA 3:005. Maria TONY 2:366. Tonight TONY, MARIA 3:517. America ANITA, ROSALIA, CONSUELO & SHARK GIRLS 4:328. Cool RIFF & THE JETS 3:589. One Hand, One Heart TONY, MARIA 2:59

10. Tonight (Quintet) TONY, MARIA, ANITA, BERNARDO, RIFF 3:3911. The Rumble JETS, SHARKS & ORCHESTRA 2:4012. I Feel Pretty MARIA, ROSALIA, TERESITA, FRANCISCA 2:4613. Somewhere (Ballet) TONY, MARIA, CONSUELO, ENSEMBLE 7:3114. Gee, Officer Krupke! ACTION, SNOWBOY & THE JETS 4:0115. A Boy Like That ANITA, MARIA 2:0716. I Have A Love ANITA, MARIA 2:0817. Finale ENSEMBLE 1:56

WEST SIDE STORY STEREO

Music by Leonard Bernstein • Lyrics by Stephen SondheimORIGINAL CAST RECORDING 1957, CONDUCTOR MAX GOBERMAN

Larry Kert TONY • Carol Lawrence MARIA • Mickey Calin RIFF • Ken Le Roy BERNARDO

Chita Rivera ANITA • Marilyn Cooper ROSALIA • Reri Grist CONSUELO • Eddie Roll ACTION

Carmen Gutierrez TERESITA • Elizabeth Taylor FRANCISCA • Grover Dale SNOWBOY

8.120887

ON THE WATERFRONT MONO

1954 RECORDINGS

18. On The Waterfront: Themes 5:25(Leonard Bernstein)Morris Stoloff conducting the Columbia Pictures Orchestra

19. On The Waterfront 2:38(Leonard Bernstein–John Latouche)Eve Boswell with Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra

20. On The Waterfront 2:57(Leonard Bernstein)Ron Goodwin & His Orchestra