Exploring: Bernstein's Wonderful Town, Act 1
Grab your poshest frock, don your lippy and stride down the sidewalk of Bernstein's Wonderful Town in Sunday Night Scala
Last updated 3rd Sep 2020
Leonard Bernstein's legacy spans a plethora of ballets, chamber music and operas - but it's his musicals that he's most recognised for. The brains behind the gorgeous score of West Side Story, which was written with lyricist Stephen Sondheim in 1957, the theatre show has won three Tony Awards and many more nominations.
So it's no surprise that Bernstein has another stunning musical up his sleeve, which debuted four years prior to West Side Story - Wonderful Town. Although not as well-known as its younger sibling, Wonderful Town won six Tony Awards.
The first act of the show will air as part of Sunday Night Scala this Sunday 5 July with Darren Redick, so please enjoy this accompanied reading.
When was Bernstein's Wonderful Town written?
Bernstein wrote Wonderful Town in 1953, working with lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green: writing partners with whom Bernstein had collaborated previously for On The Town in 1944. The original production of Wonderful Town premiered on 25th February 1953.
What is the musical Wonderful Town about?
The story follows two sisters, Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, who move from Ohio to New York to make their fortunes as a writer and an actress respectively. The story follows their struggles to make it - plus romantic pursuits - with a whole load of hilarity along the way.
What is Bernstein's Wonderful Town based on?
The story of Wonderful Town is based on My Sister Eileen, a 1940 play by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov which itself was based on series of autobiographical short stories written by American author and journalist Ruth McKenney. First published in The New Yorker in the late 1930s, they were later published as a book.
Who starred in Wonderful Town?
The original Broadway production saw Rosalind Russell as Ruth Sherwood and Edie Adams as Eileen Sherwood. The West End production in London starred Pat Kirkwood as Ruth, Shani Wallace as Eileen, Sid James as Wreck and Dennis Bowen as Bob Baker (pictured above).
Other notable cast members were Sydney Chaplin as Bob Baker in a CBS Television special in 1958 with Rosalind Russell reprising her role as Ruth. Maureen Lipman performed as Ruth in a 1986 West End revival and Brooke Shields took over the role in 2004 for the Broadway revival.
The story behind the music
The 'Overture' immediately transports the listener to New York in the 1930's. The picture is perfectly painted of two young women walking down a road in the Big Apple, wide-eyed at the bright lights of the big city. A sudden naval theme clues the listener into characters introduced later in the musical, and an utterly beautiful, graceful theme between the strings and brass caresses the ears in a most satisfying way.
A muted brass theme will prick up the ears for fans of West Side Story with a similarity to the 'Jet Song' - doesn't Bernstein love an irregular time rhythm? 'Christopher Street' serves to introduce the characters and the audience to the setting, and the constant switching between slow and fast pace is ever so much fun. If the energy doesn't have you tapping your foot along, we don't know what will.
'Ohio' introduces the listener to our two heroines - Ruth and Eileen - and the music beautifully illustrates the unique, wistful nostalgia of homesickness. Listen out for the sound of the two female vocalists in the lilting verse. A stunning combination that triggers a sense of yearning at the same time as feeling warm and reassuring. The operatic height at one moment is perfectly complemented by the lower register of the other singer later on.
The sisters' determination to succeed picks up the pace of 'Conquering New York', and there is more syncopated dissonance which can be recognised in West Side Story. The predominantly instrumental piece undergoes many pace changes throughout, showing off different parts of the story - from slightly aggressive to cheeky, then into a vampy, seductive section before returning to the main, thrashy brass section. The ensemble then sing: 'Maybe I better go home', from the previous song 'Ohio', as if they're encouraging the women to give up on their dreams and go home.
Ruth and Eileen's differences in romantic success is then documented in 'One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man' - a much slower, comedic song in which Ruth bats off the typical seduction techniques of women for a more blunt, direct approach. One particularly hilarious lyric goes: 'Just throw your knowledge in his face, he'll never try for second base' - this very well sums up the character of Ruth as well as the song, and the vocals in the final lines are incredibly impressive.
Ruth is then encouraged to give up on her dreams yet again by magazine writer Bob Baker in 'What A Waste', who spends the song telling her that there are many people who came to New York to live their dreams, only to be disappointed. There's something of a 'Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat', Guys and Dolls feel to this song, albeit much slower. The swing of the following song 'A Little Bit In Love' perfectly represents the dreamy, romantic notions of Eileen as she sings about fancying a local greengrocer. It's like something out of a 1950's Disney film.
'Pass the Football' introduces the girls' neighbour, Wreck - a former footballer who laments his previous success now that he's out of work. The music so cleverly gives the impression that Wreck is a bit of a clown, in a descending, sliding sequence of the strings and brass. As the first act draws to a close, Eileen has invited a whole host of people over for dinner to try and further both her and her sister's careers - unaware that both sisters have feelings for Bob Baker, which makes for a slightly awkward tea party.
'Conversation Piece' follows the events of the tea party, as Eileen begins the song by reprising her solo from 'A Little Bit In Love' before launching into an animated and desperate attempt to push her guests into conversation - but it remains awkward. As the pace picks up towards the end, there are several ascending operatic runs by Eileen which accentuate the slightly frantic descent into chaos as the characters try to convince themselves they've had a 'nice' time.
Bob and Ruth try to discuss the short stories she left him just prior to 'A Quiet Girl', but the two end up at conversational odds, with Ruth leaving in tears. There's a beautiful motif on the word 'Ohio', harkening back to the previous song, but this song sees Bob lamenting over developing feelings for Ruth and wishing he could find 'a quiet girl', who is 'gentle' and 'soft'... Lyrics that might not fly in modern times. The music, however, is quite lovely, and could be considered this show's 'Maria'.
As Ruth then goes off to interview the Brazilian navy cadets, they're only interested in learning the Conga dance - leading us into the final song of the act 'Conga!'. South American influences can be heard in both the music and rhythm, and poor Ruth spends the song trying to ask questions, getting completely ignored in the process and swept up in the dance, as all her neighbours on Christopher Street join in the conga line in a hilarious, chaotic moment to close the act.
The London Symphony Orchestra's performance of 'Wonderful Town' Act 1 conducted by Sir Simon Rattle featured in Sunday Night Scala on Sunday 5 July, curated and presented by LSO violinist Maxine Kwok.
Purchase the London Symphony Orchestra's recording of Bernstein's Wonderful Town via Shopify.