‘To help us survive’: On Stephen Sondheim
'I didn’t know how to articulate this at the time, but watching West Side Story I encountered for the first time a quality I’ve come to look for in great musical theatre: the distillation of complex emotion into song in a rounded yet deceptively simple manner. Here was a prime example of showtunes’ unique ability to bring human feeling to a higher plane.'
Is West Side Story still relevant today?
West Side Story has stood the test of time not just because of its artistic mastery, but because of its universal message. As the show’s choreographer Jerome Robbins once said, the show is about intolerance all over the world, not just in 1950s New York. In many ways, the show is more relevant today than it ever has been.
Changing the course of history
Our reimagination of classic works reflects our new priorities
