I am so excited!
On Friday evening, September 27th, I will be seeing my all time favorite movie, the original 1961 film version of West Side Story, again, in the Media Studios 101, up in Haverhill, MA. I've already bought and printed my ticket. Since the movie is at 7:00 in the evening, I will be leaving well before the rush-hour, to make sure that I get there in time for the movie, and possibly get something to eat beforehand.
I did watch it last Wednesday on TCM, at home, but absolutely nothing beats seeing the original 1961 film version of West Side Story on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre, with the lights down low, and sharing the whole experience with other people, whether I know them or not.
This will not be the first time I've gone to another part of the Bay State, or even out of the Bay State just to see the film West Side Story on a large, wide screen.
The original 1961 film version of West Side Story is gritty, the characters are great and believable, and it's a really wonderfully great golden oldie-but-keeper of a classic movie musical.
The bigoted, bitter and cynical Lt. Schrank, who is played by the late Simon Oakland, is really quite believable, and the equally cynical and bitter Officer Krupke (although quieter about it) is also well played by William Bramley.
Action, played by Tony Mordente, is the hot-tempered instigator-troublemaker, who's always looking for a fight, is quite believable, as is Ice, who is played by the late Tucker Smith, who is the calm, cool, collected and handsome Jet gang member who manages to keep Action in check on several occasions when he starts to get out of hand, and who takes over the Jet gang leadership after Riff's death during the Rumble, is fabulously suited for the role of Ice, due to both his looks and personality, to boot. Come to think of it, while we're on the subject of Ice, I wonder if Ice would've kept Action in check and prevented him from instigating the assault on and near-rape of Anita when she went (albeit reluctantly) to Doc's Candy Store to give the Jets a message about Chino's gunning for him. I guess we'll never know, but the thing about West Side Story that also makes it so great is that is leaves a lot to the audience's imagination.
Anita and Bernardo, who are Shark gang members, are played fantastically by Rita Moreno and George Chakiris. There was so much great dancing, not only from George and Rita, but from the other dancers as well. Regardless of what anybody says or things, nothing will ever beat Jerome Robbins' beautifully-choreographed dancing in the original film version of West Side Story
Anyway, the beautifully-created scenery by the late Boris Leven, which included both on-location scenes, as well as sound stage scenes, also helped tell an already-great story behind West Side Story.
Having said all of the above, I will write another, longer posting about West Side Story after i've seen the movie!
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even though I might have, as I was 13 years old that year, is why I don't fully appreciate it. Musicals, as you well know, are a particular art form that probably reached its absolute peak with that movie.
I will say that I love the movie Chicago, and love the singing and dancing in that, so I don't simply dismiss all musicals.
Oh, and as a little girl I longed to be a ballerina and would read biographies of Anna Pavlova. Maybe in my next life. 
