Gidgets

In the days when West Side Story was new, very little was available in the way of show-related merchandise. You embraced the viewing/listening experience—and retained it—mostly on its own merits, and with the help of only a minimum supply of memorabilia.

The usual practice of the New York theater (and American theater in general) is to distribute, free of charge, a Playbill which contains the basic information about the play (cast, scene synopsis, song lists, and company biographies) and some articles of interest to theatergoers.

Most musicals, and now some non-musicals, offer a larger and more elaborate program-booklet containing a rich and colorful gallery of production photographs. Usually the biographical information is repeated, with accompanying headshots of the performers and creative team. This ad-free item is available for a price.

If a film had an "exclusive" engagement, i.e. showing only in key theaters throughout the country prior to its more extensive "neighborhood" release, its importance was indicated in a number of ways that emulated live theater: reserved seats, an intermission break (offered, as often as not, against the filmmakers’ wishes) and a souvenir program, once again showing memorable scenes from the movie, cast and crew biographies, candid off- screen photos and background information about the filming.

In the case of musicals, of course, the most common keepsake of the show is the cast album. In addition to being sold to fans who have already seen the show or the film, the recordings are available to the general public and very often are a tool in attracting new audiences.
For West Side Story, both the Broadway Original Cast recording and the film Soundtrack were released by Columbia Records, for many years the most prolific producer of show albums.

Once a film hit its stride, the interest of booksellers was awakened. If the movie is based on a book, that book would be available instantly, in a "movie tie-in" edition designed to appeal to the film audience. If based on a stage work, the text of the play might be re-printed in an inexpensive edition, again in the hope of leading its readers to the film. One repeated marketing strategy aimed at the reading public is the “novelization,” a process by which the story of a film is presented in an easy-reading style and format. Although a printed version of the stage play West Side Story was available from the first year of the production, a novelization of the film was also published, part-keepsake, part-publicity tool. The paperback novel by Irving Shulman has enjoyed a long and healthy life since the film was released, as has the published libretto and lyrics of the play.

Historically, the shopping stopped right about there, but in recent years theater-going has been as much about T-shirts as anything else, and so, by way of the various West Side Story stage revivals produced throughout the country and around the world, and the frequent new screenings of the film, many dozens of West Side Story gidgets have crossed the sales counter, such as photos, lobby cards, coffee mugs, baseball caps, postcards, warm-up jackets, paperweights, bookmarks, fridge magnets, mouse pads, and other assorted what-nots, not the least of which is The West Side Story Pocket-size Tissues package, to be carried by, or handed to, a weeping fan in need of consolation. While your Web Host holds a keen interest in the trivial and the mundane, he staunchly maintains his conviction that the best way to hold the masterwork in clear memory is simply to see it again, and not through the possession of some mass-produced and often meaningless trinket featuring a black fire escape on a red background. Nevertheless he agrees that those Tissues are a hoot.

Really tiny person with refrigerator magnet