West Side Story is a magnificent show, a milestone in movie musicals, a box-office smash. It is so good that superlatives are superfluous. Let it be noted that the film musical, the one dramatic form that is purely American and purely Hollywood, has never been done better.
Here is my favorite dance sequence from what I consider the most brilliant musical ever filmed.
West Side Story: The Original Sound Track Recording by Leonard Bernstein; Stephen Sondheim
Cover art found on the Internet Archives and presented here for educational purposes.
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London – March 30th, 1988
A phone call from Stewart, today, means a meeting for us this Saturday lunchtime. He appeared last Saturday night while I was out at Bromptons and, since then, I’ve had three phone calls from him. However, like Graeme, he has a boyfriend, but not quite in the same sense.
He’s lived with his boyfriend for many years and told me that they don’t sleep together anymore. (How many times have I heard that before?) I believe him, but it’s still a delicate situation. The talk we will have on Saturday should hopefully sort a few things out.
I’m now seeing Graeme on Friday night when I will stay with him for the night. I’m looking forward to it, even if only for what goes on…
…for sex education to be made mandatory in schools. In India. There’s a lot of people – a majority, in fact – that have no idea about even the anatomy of those nether regions. No wonder we are breeding like crazy. Birth control is something many people won’t even talk about.
…for the country to be a safer place for girls to live in. Can we please stop with the rape culture, already? It’s not culture if bacteria has more of it than you do.
…for people to act more human. I’ve seen animals show more humanity than most people. It’s just plain simple sad.
…for caste system and religious fanaticism and jihad to die. If you want something, talk about it. Don’t try to take claim by force. War, hatred and negativity isn’t the answer. It’s never been and never will be.