Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T15:18:55.006Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 19 - Late Shows

from Part III - Composition, Creation, and Reception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2024

Elizabeth A. Wells
Affiliation:
Mount Allison University, Canada
Get access

Summary

Bernstein’s later Broadway shows, West Side Story and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, represent his greatest smash hit success and his biggest flop. This chapter focuses on the music of these two shows, and more specifically on what happened to the music after the initial runs were over, when the theatres went dark, and how, in both cases, the music became abstracted from its original context through arrangements, cover versions, and use in advertising, film, and television, sometimes reframing the meaning of the original material. As is to be expected, the two stories are quite different: West Side Story has become deeply embedded in the culture while 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was nearly banished to obscurity. The reception of both shows, however, reveals something about the enduring nature of Bernstein’s music.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×