Preview
Identifier
Revue Program_Page_23
Creation Date
4-23-2021
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Theatre and Performance Studies
Description
DRAMATURGY - “SOMETHINGS COMING”
“Something’s Coming” is a song from the musical West Side Story that premiered on Broadway in 1957. The musical is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Lyrics are written by Steven Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein, who was also writing the musical Candide at the same time, and the book by Arthur Laurents. West Side Story is a musical about two forbidden lovers, Tony, former member of the all-white gang The Jets, and Maria, the sister of the leader of the Puerto Rician gang The Sharks. West Side Story was the first show that brought themes such as murder, rape and violence into the world of musical theater.
“Something’s Coming” is a solo in Act 1 performed by Tony. The song takes place while he is closing up at Doc’s Drugstore, and is before he has met Maria. Tony is overwhelmed with the gang rivalry between The Jets and The Sharks. It is clear from the lyrics that Tony is looking towards a brighter future, one where there are no gangs, and everyone can live in harmony together. While singing the song, Tony is being accompanied by a chamber orchestra consisting of woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. The harmony is heavily jazz based as many of the songs in this musical are. “Somethings Coming” is one of the songs that made audiences fall in love with Tony.
West Side Story was Steven Sondheim’s Broadway Debut. The show has extended dance numbers, dark and mysterious music which focuses on social problems that marked a turning point in American musical theatre. The Broadway production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The musical got rave reviews. Time Magazine said that the “gang warfare was more compelling than the love story,” which many audience members agreed with. Perhaps this musical hit home for audiences who were living in real life gang warfare in New York. West Side Story was nominated for a total of 6 tony awards and Robbins won Best Choreography. In 1961 Robbins co-directed a movie adaption of West Side Story with Robert Wise.
Publisher
Arkansas State University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Theatre Program
Keywords
musical, compliation, retrospective, medley
