One of the objections raised by Arthur Laurents at the prospect of working with Leonard Bernstein was his justified fear of the work turning out to be an opera (not to mention a serious ballet, in the equally artistic hands of Jerome Robbins), and though the Maestro gave his collaborators no cause to fear such a prospect, the multi-faceted score does face that direction in this dramatic song. The agonized soubrette faces the no-longer innocent heroine in a fiery cannonade of accusations and recriminations, and, in this case, a defiant indictment for betraying one’s heritage. This is indeed the stuff of opera, placed so strategically at the late end of the show that audiences are too saturated with the story to reject the dramatic confrontation on the sole grounds of theatrical exaggeration. Anita’s complicated character takes on yet another facet in this bold and original song.
"A Boy Like That"
U.K. Tour and London
1984Lee Robinson [l] and Jan Hartley
Next Exhibit ("I Have a Love")
Previous Exhibit ("Gee, Officer Krupke")
