Enjoyment of Music, Ess. Listening Ed. 4th Ed.

1. CHAPTER 53 (BONUS)
Staged Sentiment: Bernstein
and American Musical
Theater
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Musical Theater in North America, Part 1
I. Musical Theater in North America
A. Mid-1800s, New York became cultural center
1. mid-town Manhattan, theaters lined Broadway
2. minstrel shows gave way to vaudeville
3. vaudeville expanded to variety show
B. Musical theater: rooted in the United States
1. developed from variety show and European operetta
2. early to mid-1900s, “golden age” of American musical
3. early musicals: sentimental and contrived plots

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Musical Theater in North America, Part 2
4. emphasis turned to sophisticated literary sources
5. 1970s and 80s: new level of sophistication
6. recent decades: film-based musicals, controversial plots,
irreverent satire, dance-inspired musicals
C. Musicals feature:
1. romantic plots, comic moments
2. appealing melodies
3. large ensembles, dance numbers
4. mostly spoken dialogue

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 1
II. Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story
A. Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
1. Massachusetts-born composer, conductor, educator,
pianist, television personality
2. education: Harvard, Curtis Institute of Music
3. assistant conductor of New York Philharmonic at age
twenty-five
a. last-minute replacement, nationally broadcast
performance; overnight fame
4. first American-born conductor of New York
Philharmonic
5. promoted concert music, far-reaching educational
efforts

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 2

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 3
6. style: straddled serious and popular music, accessible
compositions, rooted in tonality, soaring melodies, jazzy
rhythms
7. works: symphonies, choral works, operas, musicals, film
score, chamber and instrumental music, solo vocal music
B. West Side Story
1. modern-day Romeo and Juliet
a. New York City warring juvenile street gangs, Sharks
(Puerto Rican group) and Jets (Euro-American white
group)
b. Tony (former member of Jets), Maria (related to the
Sharks)

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 4
2. groundbreaking theatrical multimedia
a. Arthur Laurents, playwright
b. Stephen Sondheim, lyricist
c. Jerome Robbins, choreographer
3. elements of jazz, early rock-and-roll, Latino music, Afro-
Cuban dance music
a. scenes of tenderness alternate with electrifying dance
sequences
4. instant audience success; 1961 film adaptation
5. controversial: violence, gangs, stereotypes

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 5

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, , Part 6

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 7
C. Listening Guide 42: Bernstein: West Side Story, excerpts
(1957)
1. Act I: The Dance at the Gym, Mambo
a. Tony meets Maria
b. frenetic, fast-paced Afro-Cuban dance
c. highly syncopated Latin beat; bongos, cowbells
d. jazzy riffs: woodwinds and brass
e. excited voices and hand-clapping, shouts of the gang
members

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 8
2. Act I: Tonight Ensemble
a. love duet, Tony and Maria; fire-escape version of the
balcony scene
b. 32-bar song form (A–A′–B–A″)
c. orchestral introduction: ominous three-note ostinato,
brass and percussion
d. gangs sing in alternation
e. lyrical ballad over Latin rhythmic accompaniment
f. ensemble finale
i. Maria in high range; simultaneous dialogue
ii. syncopated Latin rhythm in accompaniment
iii. dramatic climax

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West Side Story, excerpts
Dance at the Gym, Mambo
Tonight Ensemble

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 9

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 10

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 11

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 12

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Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story, Part 13

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Credits
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for “The Enjoyment of Music, 4th Edition, Chapter 53: Staged Sentiment:
Bernstein and American Musical Theater”
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