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Two Adaptations, Both Alike in Dignity: West Side Story and the Cinematic Impact of an American Film Musical

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2025

Megan Woller
Megan Woller*
Affiliation:
Gannon University—School of Communication and the Arts, Erie, PA, USA
*
Email: woller001@gannon.edu
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Abstract

In the wake of the 60th anniversary of the 1961 film, the December 2021 release of a second film adaptation of the 1957 musical West Side Story sheds light on the continued cultural impact of this musical. Indeed, West Side Story permeates popular consciousness of the genre and has been celebrated over decades for its artistic integrity and achievement. Works with this type of canonical status often carry an expectation for a certain amount of fidelity when being adapted. Yet in the move from stage to screen, changes become necessary due to media specificity. More than that, the effect of time has much to do with several of the choices made in each of West Side Story's film adaptations. Drawing on adaptation theory, this article examines the adaptation approaches of the 1961 and 2021 films with a focus on the songs and how larger-scale changes affect the characterizations and dramatic arc each film. These changes reveal much regarding Hollywood's approach to the relationship between concepts of cinematic realism and the musical as genre.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Society for American Music , First View , pp. 1 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Music

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References

References

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Laird, Paul R. “Choreographers, Directors and the Fully Integrated Musical.” In Cambridge Companion to the Musical, edited by Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R., 220–34. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
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New York Public Library. “Peter Gennaro: the West Side Story you haven't heard” Online Exhibit. Accessed November 10, 2022. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/peter-gennaro-the-west-side-story-you-haven-t-heard-new-york-public-library-for-the-performing-arts/BAWxTxP-6nqAKQ?hl=enGoogle Scholar
Oja, Carol J. “West Side Story and The Music Man: Whiteness, Immigration, and Race in the US During the late 1950s.” Studies in Musical Theatre 3, no. 1 (2009): 13–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramirez, Juan A. “West Side Story Conductor Gustavo Dudamel on Making Leonard Bernstein's Music His Own.” Vanity Fair. January 31, 2022. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/01/awards-insider-gustavo-dudamel-west-side-storyGoogle Scholar
Sánchez, Kate. “REVIEW: West Side Story Captures Magic in a Mixed Bag.” But Why Tho. December, 2, 2021. https://butwhythopodcast.com/2021/12/02/review-west-side-story-captures-magic-in-a-mixed-bag/Google Scholar
Sapiro, Ian. “Beyond the Barricade: Adapting Les Misérables for the Cinema.” In Contemporary Musical Film, edited by Donnelly, K. J. and Carroll, Beth, 123–43. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simeone, Nigel. Leonard Bernstein: “West Side Story.” Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009.Google Scholar
Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.Google Scholar
Steadman, Alex. “Ansel Elgort Denies Accusation of Sexually Assaulting a Teenage Girl,” Variety, June 20, 2020, https://variety.com/2020/film/news/ansel-elgort-denies-sexual-assault-teenage-girl-1234642752/Google Scholar
Stempel, Larry. “The Musical Play Expands.” American Music 10, No. 2 (Summer 1992): 136–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, Joseph. The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Wells, Elizabeth Anne. “West Side Story:” Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical. Lanham: MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011.Google Scholar
Woller, Megan. “‘This is Our Turf!’: Puerto Rican Youths in the 1961 Film Adaptation of West Side Story.” Studies in Musical Theatre 8, no. 1 (March 2014): 27–41.Google Scholar
Wood, Graham. “Why Do They Start to Sing and Dance All of a Sudden?: Examining the Film Musical.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, edited by Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R., 383–405. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Arick, Michael, dir. West Side Memories. 2003; Santa Monica: MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. In West Side Story, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. 1961; Santa Monica: MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD.Google Scholar
Sid Ramin Papers. Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Columbia University, New York, NY.Google Scholar
Acevedo, Nicole. “Spielberg ditches the brownface in a ‘West Side Story’ remake that centers Puerto Ricans,” NBCNews. December 10, 2021. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/spielbergs-west-side-story-brings-deeper-focus-puerto-rican-experience-rcna8029Google Scholar
Allen, Shawn. Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.Google Scholar
Baber, Katherine. Leonard Bernstein and the Language of Jazz. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2019.Google Scholar
Bernstein, Leonard. Conch Town—Excerpt America. Notated Music. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200181963/Google Scholar
Block, Geoffrey. Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from “Showboat” to Sondheim, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.Google Scholar
Block, Geoffrey. A Fine Romance: Adapting Broadway to Hollywood in the Studio System Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.Google Scholar
Burlingame, Jon. “How West Side Story's First-Class Music Team Preserved the Authenticity of Leonard Bernstein's Score.” Variety. December 10, 2021. https://variety.com/2021/artisans/news/west-side-story-john-wiliams-leonard-bernstein-1235131071/Google Scholar
Cohan, Steven. The Sound of Musicals. London: BFI Publishing, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dash, Irene G. Shakespeare and the American Musical. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010.Google Scholar
Fernández, Alexia. “Steven Spielberg Says Casting His West Side Story with ‘Latinx Communities’ Was a ‘Mandate from the Get-Go.’” People. December 3, 2021. https://people.com/movies/steven-spielberg-says-casting-his-west-side-story-with-latinx-communities-was-a-mandate-from-the-get-go/Google Scholar
Foulkes, Julia. A Place for Us: “West Side Story” and New York. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garebian, Keith. The Making of “West Side Story.” Toronto: ECW Press, 1995.Google Scholar
Gennaro, Liza. Making Broadway Dance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.Google Scholar
Gottlieb, Jack. “West Side Story Fact Sheet.” West Side Story. Accessed September 2010. https://www.westsidestory.com/fact-sheetGoogle Scholar
Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation. New York: Routledge, 2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, Raymond. “Getting Real: Stage Musical versus Filmic Realism in Film Adaptations from Camelot to Cabaret.” In The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations, edited by McHugh, Dominic, 54–83. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.Google Scholar
Knapp, Raymond and Morris, Mitchell. “The Filmed Musical.” In The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical, edited by Knapp, Raymond, Morris, Mitchell, and Wolf, Stacy, 136–51. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laird, Paul R. “Choreographers, Directors and the Fully Integrated Musical.” In Cambridge Companion to the Musical, edited by Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R., 220–34. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Laird, Paul. “West Side Story,” “Gypsy,” and the Art of Broadway Orchestration. New York: Routledge, 2022.Google Scholar
Laird, Paul R. and mcclung, bruce d., “Musical Sophistication on Broadway: Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein.” In Cambridge Companion to the Musical, edited by Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R., 190–204. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Laurents, Arthur. Mainly on Directing: “Gypsy,” “West Side Story,” and Other Musicals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.Google Scholar
McCarthy, Todd. “Jets have their way onscreen: ‘West Side Story’ Screen Version Underrated.” Variety. June 5, 2009. https://variety.com/2009/film/columns/jets-have-their-way-onscreen-1118004537/Google Scholar
Mitchell, Molli. “Ansel Elgort Sexual Assault Allegations—A Timeline of Events,” Newsweek, December 13, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/ansel-elgort-sexual-assault-allegations-west-side-story-1658818Google Scholar
Mitchell, Molli. “Is The Music in West Side Story 2021 as Good as the Original? An Analysis.” Newsweek. December 13, 2021. https://www.newsweek.com/west-side-story-music-songs-original-vs-new-soundtrack-score-1658784Google Scholar
Mujeres Problemáticas. “Latinas Have Thoughts on West Side Story.” LatinaMediaCo. December 21, 2021. https://latinamedia.co/west-side-story/Google Scholar
Negrón-Muntaner, Frances. “Feeling Pretty: West Side Story and Puerto Rican Identity Discourses.” Social Text 18, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 83–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
New York Public Library. “Peter Gennaro: the West Side Story you haven't heard” Online Exhibit. Accessed November 10, 2022. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/peter-gennaro-the-west-side-story-you-haven-t-heard-new-york-public-library-for-the-performing-arts/BAWxTxP-6nqAKQ?hl=enGoogle Scholar
Oja, Carol J. “West Side Story and The Music Man: Whiteness, Immigration, and Race in the US During the late 1950s.” Studies in Musical Theatre 3, no. 1 (2009): 13–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramirez, Juan A. “West Side Story Conductor Gustavo Dudamel on Making Leonard Bernstein's Music His Own.” Vanity Fair. January 31, 2022. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/01/awards-insider-gustavo-dudamel-west-side-storyGoogle Scholar
Sánchez, Kate. “REVIEW: West Side Story Captures Magic in a Mixed Bag.” But Why Tho. December, 2, 2021. https://butwhythopodcast.com/2021/12/02/review-west-side-story-captures-magic-in-a-mixed-bag/Google Scholar
Sapiro, Ian. “Beyond the Barricade: Adapting Les Misérables for the Cinema.” In Contemporary Musical Film, edited by Donnelly, K. J. and Carroll, Beth, 123–43. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simeone, Nigel. Leonard Bernstein: “West Side Story.” Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009.Google Scholar
Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.Google Scholar
Steadman, Alex. “Ansel Elgort Denies Accusation of Sexually Assaulting a Teenage Girl,” Variety, June 20, 2020, https://variety.com/2020/film/news/ansel-elgort-denies-sexual-assault-teenage-girl-1234642752/Google Scholar
Stempel, Larry. “The Musical Play Expands.” American Music 10, No. 2 (Summer 1992): 136–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, Joseph. The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Wells, Elizabeth Anne. “West Side Story:” Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical. Lanham: MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011.Google Scholar
Woller, Megan. “‘This is Our Turf!’: Puerto Rican Youths in the 1961 Film Adaptation of West Side Story.” Studies in Musical Theatre 8, no. 1 (March 2014): 27–41.Google Scholar
Wood, Graham. “Why Do They Start to Sing and Dance All of a Sudden?: Examining the Film Musical.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, edited by Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R., 383–405. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Arick, Michael, dir. West Side Memories. 2003; Santa Monica: MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. In West Side Story, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. 1961; Santa Monica: MGM Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD.Google Scholar