It has been 50 years since the original West Side Story first reached Broadway.  Now we have a new West Side Story, presently at the Palace Theater in New York, and a new cast recording that Sony released on June 2, 2009.

First let me say that the new recording is wonderful.  The 30 piece orchestra is playing the original orchestrations, but they sound different.  Certainly the technical improvements over the past fifty years have something to do with that, but more importantly the comfort with and understanding of the harmonics and rhythms of the Leonard Bernstein score are better understood today and the rhythmic accents are really emphasized by musical director Patrick Vaccoriello making the orchestratons sound brand new.   This is clear from the beginning, especially in “Something’s Coming.”

Even though there have been great discussions in news articles and on TV about the use of Spanish in dialogue and songs by the Puerto Ricans, when you first hear the use of Spanish by the Sharks, in “The Prologue,” you might be caught off guard. This does not last long, for you  soon you realize you are hearing the language of today’s streets and it becomes very powerful and is a special delight in “I Feel Pretty.”

The cast, which includes: Matt Cavenaugh as Tony, Josefina Scaglione as Maria, Karen Olivo as Anita and Cody Green as Riff  sound less operatic  and perform dialogue and the Stephen Sondheim lyrics with more distinct accents than the stars of the original.  This makes them sound much more like the characters that they play.  However, make no mistake, this cast can sing.  Their range, control of dynamics,  breath control, phrasing,  diction, and in the case of Cavenaugh his ability to sing in falsetto, make this group dynamite.

Cavenaugh and Scaglione have real vocal chemistry in each of the four major duets they sing: “Maria,” “Tonight,” “One Hand One Heart,” and “Somewhere.”  They sound like the young lovers and blend, in English and Spanish, beautifully.

However, the show and the recording reach their performance height when Scaglione and Olivo sing “Un Hombre Asi, I Have a Love.”  It is chilling and if you get goosebumps just listening to it, imagine what happens in the theater.

This show is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and  unlike many other revivals, not only is the story relevant,  so is the score.  West Side Story has been reborn and this new Sony disk is as exciting as what is taking place at the Palace Theater each night.  If this disk does not win the Grammy I will be stunned.  This is a new castrecording classic; you have to buy it.

Categories: Broadway Revival Cast Recordings, Uncategorized
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