West Side Story (1961) | Keeping the Score Series

Be it a gentle piano interlude or a glorious orchestral fanfare, no element of filmcraft sets a movie’s tone and identity quite like the musical score. Film music has the power to underline a filmmaker’s narrative ideas, forge our bond to a heroic character, and move us to the point of tears. Join us all year long as we showcase cinema’s iconic composers whose musical talents enrich the images we see on screen and have us humming their unforgettable melodies as we exit the auditorium. The series comes to a close in November with WEST SIDE STORY! 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: princetongardentheatre.org/specials

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲: With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Steven Sondheim, WEST SIDE STORY is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, about two young people from rival New York City gangs who fall in love despite growing tension among their respective friends. Featuring memorably catchy tunes and visually striking dance sequences, the film earned 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for a scene-stealing Rita Moreno.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲: When a stage musical as timeless and masterful as Leonard Bernstein’s WEST SIDE STORY gets a movie adaptation, it’s easy to take for granted the work of transposing that indelible music from stage to screen. Indeed, Bernstein himself was never fully pleased with the film’s approach, which nearly tripled the score’s orchestra size. But even if the intimacy of the stage gets lost in translation, it’s hard to deny how this maximalist approach facilitates the cinematic grandiosity of this Oscar-winning classic of the genre. If the instrumentals feel bigger, then so too do the emotional heights they underscore.

𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 $𝟭𝟬!Become a member of our nonprofit theater for as little as $40 a year. Learn more at princetongardentheatre.org/membership

You may also like the following events from Princeton Garden Theatre:

• This Saturday, 16th August, 10:00 am, $5 Family Matinee | The Secret of Kells (2009) in Princeton
• This Sunday, 17th August, 04:00 pm, Cosmic Dawn (2025) with NASA TV Producer James Tralie in Princeton
• Next Wednesday, 20th August, 07:00 pm, The Conversation (1974) | Hollywood Summer Nights Classic Film Series in Princeton

Also check out other Entertainment events in Princeton, Music events in Princeton, Arts events in Princeton.