Somewhere I Feel Pretty in America
1957 would prove to be a good year for Broadway. The Music Man , Carousel and Brigadoon all opened that year, but I think the show that would come to change the face of musical theatre the most when it came to how music and dancing are used to tell a story is West Side Story . In the September 27, 1957 edition of the New Herald Tribune , journalist Walter Kerr wrote in his review of opening night: "The radioactive fallout from West Side Story must still be descending on Broadway this morning." (Source: Saturday Evening Post ) I think I understand a little of what Mr. Kerr must have meant by "radioactive fallout." I saw a production of West Side Story last year, almost 60 years since it's opening night, and still can't think about it without getting teary-eyed. What is it about this show that causes such an emotional response? One of the facets of musical theatre that continues to make it such a progressive art form is its ability to have those ha...