A Place for Us: A Tribute to 50 Years of West Side Story

I wonder whose idea it was to celebrate the golden jubilee of West Side Story with the compilation CD A Place for Us: A Tribute to 50 Years of West Side Story. Whoever it was, the place for him or her is Hell.

Let us recall that this wonderful show was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet updated to New York City in 1957 with, instead of Capulets and Montagues, two warring gangs: the Puerto Rican Sharks and the Anglo Jets. The music was by Leonard Bernstein, the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the book by Arthur Laurents, and the electrifying choreography by Jerome Robbins, based on intensive research into the dark ethnic byways of the city. Could anyone ask for more?

The original idea was for an "East Side Story," with the friction between Catholics and Jews, but that was passé. The new tension focused on the recently growing influx of Puerto Ricans, one of whom is the heroine Maria (Carol Lawrence), who falls in love with the Anglo Tony (Larry Kert).

Over the years and out of context (such as the fierce, expertly danced rumble), some of the songs became amiable popular favorites, purged of their original biting ambience. The new CD emphasizes the variety of performers who have adopted and, alas, adapted the songs, sometimes very freely, to their personal styles. And so we find here the likes of Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Andy Williams and Brian Stokes Mitchell performing covers that should never have been rediscovered. Diversity is a fine thing, but not as some of these jokers diversify.

So now you can hear sundry offshoots, dating from various years between 1959 and the present, two of them recorded especially for this CD, and some of them of mild interest. Thus the Dave Brubeck Quartet's riffs on "Somewhere" from 1960 manages to be titillatingly funky. But when the worthy André Previn, Red Mitchell, and Shelly Manne join their not inconsiderable forces on "Gee, Officer Krupke," I experience the absence of Sondheim's brilliant lyrics like a missing tooth that my sorrowful tongue keeps obsessively seeking out.

Even the gifted orchestrator William David Brohn's "West Side Story Suite," from which the CD offers "Maria," with a violin solo by the distinguished Joshua Bell, cannot compensate for the lack of the romantic lyric and the piquant original orchestration.

As for the new tracks, Eldar's jazz-piano version of "Cool" leaves me downright cold, and fond as I am of Kristin Chenoweth and Hugh Panaro, their rendition of "Tonight" doesn't come off felicitously either. It may have something to do with the orchestral accompaniment provided by Pocket Songs—some pockets just aren't deep enough.

The nadir, however, is reached by Tuck and Patti's 1991 recording of "One Hand, One Heart," which is more like one foot in two mouths. I am adding "Tuck" and "Patti" to my collection four- and five-letter words.

There is a two-minute reprieve by Julie Andrews' 1961 interpretation of "I Feel Pretty," which, though not uncharming, is not only not Puerto Rican as originally intended, but actually out-Anglos even the Jets. Something can also be said for the bouncy Canadian Brass's 1996 "America," but the two tracks together can merely salve (not quite salvage) five minutes.

West Side Story's jubilee is about to be celebrated with the release of several other recordings as well. Deutsche Grammophon is bringing out a noteworthy CD/DVD package of the 1984 Bernstein-conducted version with Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras, which, if you don't mind operatic renditions (personally, I favor the separation of church and state), will certainly be preferable to A Place for Us. Better yet, of course, is the original cast recording.