Hello again to West Side Story!
Since yesterday was a warm, sunny day here in the Bay State, I drove up to Lowell, MA, a blue-collar city roughly 45 minutes north of the city that I presently reside in, to see an afternoon showing of the film West Side Story, which is my alltime favorite film, hands down.
It had been two years since I'd last seen the film West Side Story, so I figured it was more than time for another showing of this film. Prior to driving up there, I purchased my ticket online, printed it up at home, and then got some directions from the Triple A website for driving up there. I left home at around half-past eleven on Sunday morning, stopping for gas enrollee. It took me roughly 3/4 of an hour to arrive. Since I'd left home in plenty of time, I parked in the large parking garage that was sort of in the middle of the city of Lowell, had a bite to eat at a good Irish-Mexican Restaurant nearby, and then walked over to the movie theatre, which was in Mill #5. I walked towards the sign "5", entered the iron gates, and walked through a darkish underpass to an elevator all way at the end, and took it to the 4th floor of the building. Walking straight through the long corridor of funky shops, I noticed a lit-up sign for the Luna Theater, at the end.
The Luna Theater is a small movie theater that seats a relatively small number of people. It has rows of seats that look like older automobile or truck seats, with a table for snacks, etc., attached to each one. It's a perfect little theatre to see great classic films such as West Side Story and other classics, and it only cost six dollars a person for admission.
A very pristine version of the film West Side Story was shown, and the movie looked as beautiful as it ever did. The soundtrack, too, was fabulous and in perfect shape. All of the various characters, from the romancing Tony and Maria, to the warring Jets and Sharks, seemed to move more fluidly, with more open movements, on a big, wide movie screen, in a real movie theatre. Even Richard Beymer's Tony seems much more vital and alive, on a great big, wide movie theatre screen. Although this movie theatre screen isn't as large as other movie theatre screens, it, too, has a nice, wide feel to it.
West Side Story, as I've pointed out on this board before, is a film that I never, ever get tired of seeing again and again. My initial introduction to West Side Story was through the music to the original Broadway stage production of this musical. It was in the summer of 1962, prior to my entering the 6th grade, that my introduction to West Side Story first took place. One girl in my group, who'd just received a copy of the LP soundtrack of the original Broadway stage production of West Side Story for her birthday, brought it to camp and played it for our group. My love of West Side Story and the music took off instantly. West Side Story-mania was in the air that summer, as kids roamed the halls, often in packs, snapping their fingers and singing all the songs from WSS. The songs from West Side Story also rang through the buses to and from camp 5 days a week, as well. It was quite cool!
Due to the fact that my parents did not think that the film West Side Story was a kid's movie, they never took either myself or my younger sister to see it when it first came out.. (Both of us were still pre-teens when the film WSS came out.), during the heyday of its popularity and newness. Subsequently, I didn't get to see the film version until around Christmastime of 1968, as a high school Senior, at a now-defunct theatre north of where my younger siblings and I grew up, during a national re-release of the film version of West Side Story When I saw this great classic for the first time, I fell in love with it, instantly, and I love it still, much to the amusement and resignation of my friends and family. After all these years, it still tugs at my heartstrings!
Since I hadn't seen the film West Side Story for a couple of years, I jumped at the opportunity and purchased myself a ticket for yesterday's afternoon showing of this film at the Luna Theater, up in Lowell, MA Since Lowell wasn't that far from where I live, I got there in plenty of time, had some lunch, and enjoyed the film. While the afternoon screening of the film West Side Story didn't sell out, it was well-attended, nonetheless..
Yesterday was a joyous afternoon, and it was well worth the drive up there to re-see my all time favorite film.