Ashley Oviedo

Darci L. Wutz

Fall 2018

Dance 315

Sondheim Worksheet: West Side Story

A.) Cite examples of the following types of lyrics found in West SIde Story

1) “Charm Song” - “I Feel Pretty” Lyrics: “I feel charming, oh so charming, it's alarming how

charming I feel, and so pretty that I hardly can believe I'm real.” “Feel like running and

dancing for joy, for i'm loved by a pretty wonderful boy.” The song pleases the audience

with light hearted descriptions of the love Maria is feeling and how it makes her feel

about herself.

2) “Comedy Song” - “Officer Krupke”: “My sister wears a mustache, my brother wears a

dress. Goodness gracious that's why i'm a mess.” “we’re down on our knees cause no

one wants a fellow with a social disease… Gee officer Krupke, Krup you!” The song

makes the audience laugh throughout the piece with funny voices, scenarios, and

descriptions.

3) “Ballad” - “Somewhere” : “There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us. Peace and

quiet and open air wait for us somewhere.” “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there, hold

my hand and I’ll take you there.” “Maria”; Tony: “Maria… say it loud and there's music

playing; say it soft and it's almost like praying…” Both of these songs perfectly serve the

purpose of “saying I love you without actually saying it.

4) “Musical Scene” - “A Boy Like That/ I Have a Love” : “ A boy like that wants one thing

only and when he’s done he’ll leave you lonely. He’ll murder your love, he murdered

mine. Just wait and see…” “It's true for you but not for me. I hear your words and in my

head I know they're smart. But my heart Anita but my heart…” This scene serves as a
 scene but sung and set to music. The two characters are having a debated conversation

through the music of the scene.

B.) Cite examples of the following dramatic functions of the lyrics in West Side Story:

1.) When Lyrics reflect a character: “America”- Bernardo: “One look at us and they charge

twice… Twelve in a room in America.” Anita: Puerto Rico, you ugly island. Island of

tropic diseases… I like the island Manhattan, smoke on your pipe and put that in!”

Bernardos lyric reflects what he truly feels about the “greater” life they found in America

(that it's not actually much better than life in Puerto Rico.) Anitas lyric reflects that she

can't stand to even think about going back to her life in Puerto Rico and that she does in

fact prefer their new life in America.

2.) When lyrics propel the plot: “Tonight Quintet” - Tony: “I’ll see my love tonight and for us

starts will stop where they are!” Riff: The jets are gonna have their day tonight.”

Bernardo: “The sharks are gonna have their way tonight.” All three of these lyrics create

anticipation and describe the next events that both the characters and the audience are

looking forward to in the pot.

3.) When Lyrics embody the theme: “Somewhere” : “Someday, somewhere, we’ll find a new

way of living. We’ll find a way of forgiving, somewhere.” “...Time to learn, time to care,

someday…” Both of these lyrics demonstrate the theme of “we are all human and we

must look past our differences and learn to actually live.”

4.) When lyrics contribute to the mood of the scene: “Tonight” Maria: “...Tonight, the world is

full of light with suns and moons all over the place.” “It all began tonight. I saw you and

the world went away.” These lyrics help create the “in love” mood of the balcony scene.

The lyrics help to justify the fact that the two just met by creating a mood of love and

infatuation.
 5.) When lyrics set the tone of the show: “One Hand, One Heart.” Maria/Tony: “Now it

begins, now we start, one hand one heart...Only death can part us now.” These lyrics set

the tone of forbidden but inseparable love that is present throughout the entire show.

6.) When lyrics define the setting (Time, place, social, or psychological environment) :

“When You're a Jet” Snowboy: “When you're a jet you're the top cat in town. You're the

gold metal kid with the heavyweight crown.” Jets: “...better run better hide… and we

gonna beat every last buggin gang on the whole buggin street.” These lyrics serve to

demonstrate early on in the show that the Jets seem to think they are above any other

gang or “group” of people in town and sets the show in the violent world that it lives.

C.) Cite examples (when/ who is involved) of the following functions of the score found in West

SIde Story:

1.) Music reinforces the emotion in a way that cannot be duplicated by language alone:

“Tonight” Maria: “Only you, you're the only thing I’ll see forever. In my eyes in my words

and in everything I do, nothing else but you ever.” Tony: “All day I had a feeling a miracle

would happen, I know now I was right. For here you are and what was just a world is a

star tonight.” Music reinforces their love for eachother here because if they just simply

told each other “I love you” it almost wouldn't be believable. The show revolves around

these two characters who have such a love that they are willing to die for eachother and

the only way to properly convey that to the audience is through these heightened lyrics.

2.) Music can be employed to reinforce dramatic action: “One Hand, One Heart” :

Maria/Tony: “Even death won't part us now.” “Tonight Quintet:” - Riff: “I'm counting on

you to be there tonight. When Diesel wins it fair and square tonight. That Puerto Rican

punk’ll go down and when he’s hollered uncle, we’ll tear up the town.” Both of these

lyrics enforce a dramatic action that will happen later in the show weather the audience

knows it will happen or not. This is true for Tony's death and the rumble at the end.
3.) Music establishes and maintains a tone appropriate to the dramatic atmosphere of the

show: “One Hand, One heart.” Maria/Tony: “Only death will part us now.” “A Boy Like

That/ I Have a Love” Maria: “I hear your words and in my head I know they're smart but

my heart Anita but my heart knows they're wrong and my heart is too strong.” Both of

these lyrics maintain and support the shows tone of unconditional love. Both Maria

arguing how much she loves Tony even though she knows it's “wrong” and the pair

saying that death is the only thing that can separate them reinforces that tone.

4.) Music personifies character: “When You're a Jet” Riff: “When you're a jet you stay a jet!”

“A Boy Like That” Anita: “One of your own kind stick to your own kind… He’ll murder

your love, he murdered mine...just wait and see.” Riffs lyric personifies him as a “pack

leader” who values gang life and sticking together more than anything else while Anitas

lyric shows how hurt she has been by others in the past and her unwillingness to trust

anyone but those of “her own kind.”

5.) Music sets the dramatic mood: “Something's Coming” Tony: “I gotta feeling there's a

miracle due, gonna come true, coming to me. Could it be? Yes it could. Something's

coming, something good.” This song sets up an anticipatory mood because Tony sings

about having a “good feeling,” creating a mood amongst the audience of “I wonder what

is coming?”

6.) Music as a Transition between parts of the show: After the scene where Tony Tells

Maria that he killed her brother bernardo during the rumble, the scene shit is

underscored with the melody of “Somewhere” and the lights come up on Tony and Maria

in bed together. It makes the transition from that dark and heavy scene easier and on an

emotional level tales the natural progression of emotions of anger and then sadness. In

another instance, right after the jets’ number “Cool,” during the scene shift when the

sharks are coming into Docs shop to have their “war council” the backing of “cool” plays

softly in the background as the Sharks walk into the shop. This serves as a reminder of
 their ideas of “keeping cool” to the audience who is about to witness a heated argument

between Bernardo and Riff.

7.) Music generates dance: The shows overture begins and promptly afterwards, the jets

and the sharks slowly break out into dance. It begins with the dancers snapping along to

the music and then slowly as it builds into the melody of “When You're a Jet,” one by one

the dancers begin to incorporate themselves into the dance. The use styles of ballet and

jazz and keep building the intensity of the steps along with the music throughout the

opening number. In another instance, during the song America when the sharks argue

over whether life in America is better than life back in Puerto Rico, the song builds as a

back and forth between the two opposing standpoints until dance breaks form. The

dance breaks are warranted by the music and happen because another form of

expression (dance) is needed to further each of the sides points.