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Something's Coming, Something Good
West Side Story and the American Imagination
by Misha Berson
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Book Presentation:
Something's Coming, Something Good: West Side Story and the American Imagination takes a critical, comprehensive look at one of the most inventive, influential, and internationally beloved Broadway musicals of all time – from its inception by a brilliant quartet of creators (Robbins, Bernstein, Sondheim, and Laurents) to its smashing success on film, to its ongoing popularity on stages around the world and its potent impact on the Great American Musical.
Featuring intriguing chapters on West Side Story in relation to Romeo and Juliet; as a recording phenomenon; as a film rated the second-best movie musical of all time by the American Film Institute; as part of a wave of juvenile delinquency dramas; as the first great choreographer-auteur musical; and as the granddaddy of “youth musicals” such as Hair and Rent, Something's Coming, Something Good is a revealing guide for those who have seen the show; for those who wish to study it for pleasure or inspiration; and for actors, designers, and directors planning on producing it.
About the Author:
Misha Berson (Seattle, WA) is the award-winning theater critic for the Seattle Times and the author of the books Between Worlds: Contemporary Asian-American Plays and The San Francisco Stage. She writes regularly for American Theatre Magazine and other publications, and has taught at the University of Washington and San Francisco State University.
Press Reviews:
Something's Coming, Something Good demonstrates how West Side Story has become a part of the zeitgeist because of its inventiveness and its energy, its power to move and excite audiences and to provoke them to think about serious social problems. It is a testimonial to the distinctive accomplishment of four creative artists who changed the face of the American musical, and perhaps changed the face of America--with a click, with a shock. --The Sondheim Review
...a highly readable history of the show's decades-long genesis, with effective sketches of the principal creators and their artistic histories. Tracking the tangled and occasionally intersecting career paths of four restless artists over a 10-year period is no mean feat, but Berson manages it with clarity and ease. --Kirkus Reviews
. . . as the reader makes his/her way through the pages, it is hard not to think first, 'How did I not know that?' and then, 'I want to watch it again!' --New York Journal of Books
See the publisher website: Applause Books
See West Side Story (1961) on IMDB ...
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