I'm not sure either woman could pull off Maria - they don't have that clear soprano voice you need.
Well, there's no one else in the cast that comes close unfortunately...
But it does explain why they didn't do the song I Feel Pretty.
Stephen Sondheim agreed with them and still does to this day. Sondheim also enjoyed re-writing the lyrics to America to include the Sharks and felt it made it much more interesting.
So why did the revival stick to the original theaterical version and not the film version? Always found that interesting.
The songs were switched because Robert Wise and Ernest Lehman (the screenwriter) felt that having a "comic" number after two murders was inappropriate
I think I disagree. That's when you need the comedy...to break up the pathos a bit. Also plot-wise it works better...because they are trying to figure out how to deal with the cops after the killing. Probably why it was there in the original version. Often in tragedies, you'll get a comedic number to break it up, this goes all the way back to Shakespeare.
Notably Whedon - he would always undercut tragedy with humor. Otherwise known as "gallows humor". You laugh to avoid crying.
This is actually a flaw in later Sondheim, he has a tendency to go for the pathos, and doesn't let in the humor enough. As a result you fall into "melodrama".
Re: The even bigger theatre and film geek responds
Well, there's no one else in the cast that comes close unfortunately...
But it does explain why they didn't do the song I Feel Pretty.
Stephen Sondheim agreed with them and still does to this day. Sondheim also enjoyed re-writing the lyrics to America to include the Sharks and felt it made it much more interesting.
So why did the revival stick to the original theaterical version and not the film version?
Always found that interesting.
The songs were switched because Robert Wise and Ernest Lehman (the screenwriter) felt that having a "comic" number after two murders was inappropriate
I think I disagree. That's when you need the comedy...to break up the pathos a bit. Also plot-wise it works better...because they are trying to figure out how to deal with the cops after the killing. Probably why it was there in the original version. Often in tragedies, you'll get a comedic number to break it up, this goes all the way back to Shakespeare.
Notably Whedon - he would always undercut tragedy with humor. Otherwise known as "gallows humor". You laugh to avoid crying.
This is actually a flaw in later Sondheim, he has a tendency to go for the pathos, and doesn't let in the humor enough. As a result you fall into "melodrama".