program notes by composition > a > America, from West Side Story
America, from West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein, arranged by Michael Brown
West Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins. It was inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, presenting the Montagues and Capulets four centuries later in the slums of New York as teen gangs of white American ne’er-do-wells and tough Puerto Rican immigrants.
Its opening in 1957 brought social issues to American musical theater and first reviews were mixed. But nearly seventy years since its opening, West Side Story continues to captivate, intoxicate, jolt, and compel one to dance.
“America” is a high-energy challenge dance between Puerto Rican girls, set on a tenement rooftop and a debate about the plusses and minuses of New York City versus San Juan.
A mysterious and sultry introduction leads to the familiar rhythm at the heart of the song. The rhythm, which, like the rest of the music, takes cues from various genres of Latin music, gets its irresistible forward motion from the alternation of measures of 6/8 and 3/4: DA-da-da DA-da-da | DA DA DA.