Glee does West Side Story and romantic love

Well, that was one of the better written Glee's, although I had issues with it - mostly because Rachel and Finn have zero chemistry, and the idea of losing your virginity in high school seems a bit...(I don't remember everyone having sex in high school. Did I go to school in the dark ages?) OTOH, at least they underlined the theme that you should do it with someone you are in love with - not just to do it. I'll give them that. But hey, I don't watch Glee for the story (which is impossible to take seriously, these kids are obviously in their 20s), I watch it for the musical numbers. And the musical numbers this week were fantastic. Glee? You really should stick to the show tunes. Just saying. Probably helps that I adore West Side Story. I do. The music, the story, everything about it. It is one of those few musicals in which everything works, every single little thing. Only bad acting or bad singers and dancers can ruin it. Some musicals are all about the actors - The Producers is an example as was Sunset Boulevard -- which could not survive after the stars left, Adams Family will probably run into the same problem. Others, the one's that last, and get revivals, and show up on Glee - are well like the Shakespearen play that West Side Story was based and upgrades to the highest level. West Side Story is an example of how you can actually improve on the source material and make it more interesting. West Side Story takes the feuding family theme of Romeo and Juliet and turns it into a commentary on racism and xenophobia in America - which is timeless. When West Side Story was first created and produced, inter-racial marriage was well...taboo in much the same way that same-sex marriage is now. People got death threats. West Side Story is as much a love story as a political commentary - on the race wars going on cities, which continue today. Maybe not with Puerto Ricans and White Polacks, but it doesn't matter.

( spoilers for tonight's Glee )