When I was in high school, we had to read West Side Story in conjunction with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. They were even bound together, in the same book. Plus the orchestra played highlights from the score. So I got a double dose, and I hated every moment of it.
Was there ever anything more heterosexist?
Right. The Jets hate Maria, the Sharks hate Tony, conflict, conflict, conflict, our love will triumph, fight at the gym, death, everybody's sad.
A flame of heteronormativity envelops songs like "Maria" and "One Hand, One Heart."
Plus all of the Jets and Sharks have girlfriends. Every one of them.
Horrible. Absolutely unwatchable.
Which is surprising, when you consider that the writer Arthur Laurents, composer Leonard Bernstein, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim were all gay (see Hello, Dolly! for another example).
And about half of the cast members.
There isn't even any beefcake: the high-stepping hunks never take off their shirts. Not once.
The 1961 movie starred Richard Beymer (Tony, left), Natalie Wood (Maria), George Chakiris (Bernardo), Russ Tamblyn (Riff), and Jose de Vega (Chino).
Many other hunks have played Tony, such as Colt Prattes (top photo) and Matthew Cavenaugh.
Including some gay ones.
I can not figure out why.
See also: Leonard Bernstein's Mass; Michael Callan: A Gay Guy and His Pretend Wife.
If you want to see a gay themed Romeo and Juliet, you can try Private Romeo, a movie released in 2011. I found it very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteSteven Spielberg has produced a new more "realistic" version of the musical
ReplyDelete......and it bombed.
DeleteIn the new version there is some gay tension between Tony(Ansel Elgort) who had spent time in juvenile prison for almost killing a boy and Riff (Mike Faist) who wants them to be co-leaders of the Jets. Bernardo (David Alvarez) is not as sexy as George Chakiris. The Jets and the Sharks are still made up of hot young dancers and you wish that instead of the deadly rumble they would just strip and start making out
ReplyDelete