Woo Tsz Hin

Kam Pak Sze

Yang Enhua
1. BACKGROUND INFORMATIONS
2. STORYLINE INSPIRATIONS & COMPARISONS
3. MUSIC FORMS & ANALYSIS
a. AABA FORM
b. I WANT SONG
c. I AM SONG
d. DANCE SCENE
e. DUET VS QUINTET
4. SUMMARY & EVALUATION
BACKGROUND
● Inspired by
INFORMATIONS
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
● Book by Arthur Laurents
● Music by Leonard Benstein
● Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
● Conceived by Jerome Robbins
Original Broadway production(1957)

● directed and choreographed by Robbins

● ran 732 performances before going on tour
● Was nominated for Tony awards 6 times, including
Best Musical, winning 2 (1958)
Broadway Revival(2020)

● Opening Date: February 20

● Closing Date: March 11
● Performances: 24
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONS
Oct 18, 1961 Original Film
● Director: Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins
● 10 Oscars at the 34th Academy Awards in 1962
● Most Academy wins(musical film), including Best Picture.
● 3 wins at the 1962 Golden Globe Awards.
● Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast from Motion
Picture or Television at the 4th Annual Grammy Awards in 1961.
West Side Story (1961) Film With Live Orchestra
● Available since 2010 with help of Audionamix
Dec 10, 2021 Latest Theatrical Movie Release
● Director: Stephen Spielberg
● Numerous Awards(Grammy, Golden Globe, Academy)
● Streaming online, Hardcopy avalible
INSPIRATIONS & COMPARISONS
● Tragedy story written in Shakespeare’s
early career
● Original storyboard and characters
● Romance between two Italian youth
● Main characters from feuding families
which didn’t support their love
● Tragedy story by Laurents wrote closely
adhered to Romeo and Juliet
● Characters based on Shakespeare’s story
● Romance between two USA teenagers
● Main characters from different ethnic
background Street gangs
● Eliminated chracters from original story
MUSIC FORMS & ANALYSIS - “Jets Song”
Jet song

● AABA form
● Clear music motif from Prologue
○ The Jet’s Theme
○ Reused throughout the story
● Trick use of interval functions
○ Tritone (Augmented 4th/ Diminished 5th)
○ Nickname ‘devil’s interval’
● Movie sound effects syncs with dance
● Use of Jazz music
○ Measure meter changes
○ Muted trumpets
I WANT SONG - “Maria”
TONY Maria . . .The most beautiful
sound I ever heard.
Maria
VOICES Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria . . .

TONY All the beautiful sounds of the

● Tritone intervals world in a single word . . .

VOICES Maria, Maria, Maria,

● Monologue lyrics Maria . . .Maria, Maria . . .

TONY Maria! I've just met a girl

● Repeating target named Maria,
And suddenly the name
Will never be the same
● Rhyming effects To me.

Maria! I've just kissed a girl

named Maria,
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound
Can be.

(Maria x8)

Maria!
Say it loud and there's music
playing—
Say it soft and it's almost like
praying—
I AM SONG - “I Feel Pretty”
MARIA I feel pretty,
I feel pretty Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and
gay,
● Major scaled And I pity
Any girl who isn't me
today.
● Dialogue lyrics I feel charming,
Oh, so charming,
● Parallelism It's alarming how
charming I feel,
And so pretty
● More rhyming That I hardly can believe
I'm real.

See the pretty girl in that

mirror there,
Who can that attractive
girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

I feel stunning
And entrancing,
DANCE SCENE COMPARE - “Prologue”
Prologue 1961 Prologue 2021 Prologue Play

● Different opening setting

○ Tall buildings of big city (Bird’s eye view)
○ Broken architecture (Grounded view)
○ Basketball ground (eye level view)
● Similar dance movements
○ Finger clicking
○ Music syncs
● Same clearence of setting definition
○ Same fighting storyline
○ Leftover Jet member, Police arrives
○ Distinguishing gang members through colors
DANCE SCENE COMPARE
“Dance at the Gym”Supercut 1961&2021

Distinguishing gang members through colors

Positions: Jets on the Left, Sharks on the Right

Tony and Maria’s first dance theme is “Maria”

MUSIC FORMS & ANALYSIS - “Tonight”
Duet Version
Tonight 1961&2021
● A juxtapose to “Maria”(1st verse)
● The continuation to the love story
● Original melody written in Major scales
● Mainly string instruments to bring out the
vibe of the two loved ones
● Used the staircases as an invisible wall to
tell audiences how the love was blocked
by dangerous situations
Quintet Version
Switchcut 1961&2021
● Repraise and contrast of duet version
● Added 3 more parties to the picture
● Mixing theme with faster rhythmic pattern
● Used orchestration same as “Dance at the
Gym”, heavy brass Included
● Story-telling Montage Sequences used to
tell audiences how near and how
dangerous is to the gangs fight
SUMMARY & EVALUATION
● Many online reviews claim that Stephen Spielberg failed to recapture
the magic of the original story, the latest movie disappointed lots of fans.
● Others say What Steven Spielberg has done with 'West Side Story' is
exactly what a great adaptation should do
○ strip away the cobwebs of a classic
○ dig deep into the questions it poses
○ remind us why we love it in the first place
● It sits as a perfect companion to the 1961 film
○ offering a reminder of the power of art to connect to the human
experience in ways
○ move, devastate and amaze audiences
● 'West Side Story' is a revelation, a marvel
○ No doubt becoming many peoples’ favourite film of the year.
○ It might even be a masterpiece.
● We think it is the most needed movie in modern times
Thankyou!Th
ankyou!Than
kyou!Thanky
ou!Thankyou
!Thankyou!T WestSide
hankyou!Tha WebSite
nkyou!Thank
you!Thankyo
u!Thankyou!