The Elevated Acre
55 Water Street
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Still from West Side Story (1961)
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Monday July 20, 2009 (8pm)
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"Be lithe or die" sums up the m.o. of West Side Story, that 1961 musical in which all of multi-ethnic New York appears ready to baile. The tale is famously star-crossed: Romeo translates in city patois as Tony (Richard Beymer), a reformed lad whose street cred stems from co-founding the Jets, an Anglo gang at tragic odds with the Puerto Rican Sharks — Juliet/Maria (Natalie Wood) happens to be their leader's sister. Although this supercharged film was lifted from Broadway with its dream tandem — Stephen Sondheim's lyrics and Leonard Bernstein's score — untouched, it's co-director/choreographer Jerome Robbins' nimble and ultra-expressive dances that last, with each pirouette announcing a "Beat-It" threat.
