Romeo and Juliet/Tony and Maria

Sadly, one of us remembers the AHA! moment when it came clear that this was Romeo and Juliet and one of us was for all times to be a birdbrain from Michigan.

Some years back I had a Youth Orchestra in Kentucky and we went on tour in the state and played this music. For a lot of the kids it was their first time encountering Bernstein and this very special creation. I can still remember their faces and their delight in hearing and performing it.

I'm listening to this on the Internet radio from Michigan State University (WKAR - an internet treasure) and remembering seeing it ages ago in a community production that was probably awful but seemed like magic back then.

The music is as fresh as wet ink on manuscript.  The sounds hang like moonbeams.

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