CAROL LAWRENCE REVISITS WEST SIDE STORY

On Sept 26, 1957, the dance world changed forever. Jerome Robbins' landmark musical opened at the Wintergarden Theatre on Broadway. A cast of 32 dancers, for the first time in history, stepped up to the task of singing, dancing, and acting all of the roles. Few, if any of them, had been heard of previously.

Chita Rivera had been seen with Sammy Davis Jr. in "Mr. Wonderful" and Carol Lawrence was a featured tap dancer in a revue called "New Faces Of 1953." Today, along with Larry Kert's "Tony" and Michael Callan's "Riff," their performances as "Anita" and "Maria" remain among the finest that Broadway has ever seen.

Recently, Carol surveyed a scrapbook belonging to another West Side alumni, Grover Dale. (He played "Snowboy") The conversation reveals:

1. Original title of WSS was "Gang Way."
2. The Jet Song at the top of the show replaced another song called "Shoot Me To The Moon."
3. George Chakiris played "Riff" in the London production before winning an Oscar playing "Bernardo" in the film.
4. Dancers' pay in 1957 was $90 a week.
5. By 2007, it's risen to $1509 a week. [less]

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• West
• Side
• Story
• Jerome
• Robbins
• Chita
• Rivera
• Carol
• Lawrence
• George
• Chakiris
• Grover
• Dale
• Answers4dancers.com

[groverd]

y'know....that rings a bell. it's been 53 years!

[groverd]

Someday I'll summon the nerve to tell the backstage stories that have never seen the light of day. We were so bad.  No wonder they cast us as gangmembers.

[groverd]

Carol almost got there. Rehearsals for Ravinia got in the way. Next time.

[martlet530]

On the TV program "What's My Line", Arlene Francis referred to Ms Lawrence as a "triple threat", someone who can sing, act and dance. I must disagree. The truth is she is so much more. Having just finished her autobiography, "The Backstage Story", I can add with great assurance her abilities as a writer, chef and humanitarian. One can only hope that she find time for a third book, about the music that filled her heart and ours.

[sonnet30]

Carol is so much lovelier than this image suggests. She is still the one and only Maria. No one since can match her voice, passion and purity in the the role.

[JSpringfield1]

I met the Carol Lawrence. She is so sweet and very funny. :)

[KaitlynLela]

Grover,

Do you know anyone else in the original cast who has written about their experiences in WSS? I've heard tidbits, but I'd really like a full book. I read somewhere that around opening night, Jerome pasted an article on the sign-in board from that day's paper reporting fresh gang violence and wrote "THIS IS YOUR LIFE."

[waynegabi]

This is absolutely fascinating and so interesting. What a wonderful lady and singer and dancer Carol is. And now I find out she has worked with the greatest male dancer I've ever known, Garrett Minniti. Wayne L.

[thenowcorporation]

so sweet. thanks for posting.

[waynebrasler]

Carol never changes! She is an enthusiastic, sincerely, lively and lovely as always. She's truly absolutely in love with show business, with life and with people and she's still sharp and perceptive, warm and entrancing. She also wrote what I feel is the best cookbook anyone ever has done, "I Remember Pasta." I live about seven minutes from where she grew up in Melrose Park, Illinois, where she is still the talk of the town! She obviously adores Grover Dale but who doesn't?

[Kath13669]

She is still fabulous. An american treasure. This is a joy to watch especially for those of us who love musical theater.

Thank you!