“West Side Story” by Mark Mullino
west of mammon
hell’s kitchen
gritty shadows of city
seething angst
from hot fissures
between generations
ethnic rivalry fusing
testosterone bombs
dreams explode
cultures rumble
blood seeps into
spiderweb cracks
of intolerant minds
driving rhythms build
tension and torment
beneath plaintive
strains stark with
realism music in open
rebellion of grand
operatic tradition
a muscular juggernaut
sweeping away
legs of classic ballet
Broadway born
revolution of stagecraft
a visceral vehicle
scored to a modernized
ancient morality play
hidden hearts
filled with truth
amid ruins of hope
find impossible love
come to climax
exquisitely tragic
a coda to carry
forever remembered
a coming of age
in a world even
Shakespeare agreed
turned on
unhappy endings
********************************
(Regarding “West Side Story” – the musical theater collaboration, loosely adapted from “Romeo and Juliet,” as improbable as it was remarkable, by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents)
Poesy plus Polemics 
I was a student living on 13th & Broadway from ` 61 to `63. Brings back such memories of the NYC I can remember. Thanks . . .
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near union square in the village? – did you attend nyu?
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Brilliant! 🙂
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thank you most sincerely
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I always wanted to write a musical, from Oklahoma to West side Story as I was growing up… I have run out of time : -)
-an outstanding piece.
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glad you enjoyed it
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Brilliant piece, Paul.
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thank you very much, eugenia
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I can hear the music! Your poem adds a new dimension to West Side Story. The picture has a grand and furious energy.
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I’m glad you said that – so, too, did the Broadway production
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“Cuz, when you’re a Jet…”
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“you’re a jet all the way…”
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