America (West Side Story song) America (West Side Story song) “America” is a song from the musical "West Side Story". Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and Leonard Bernstein composed the music. In the original stage version, Anita – the most important female character after Maria and the girlfriend of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks – praises America while a fellow Puerto Rican immigrant, Rosalia, supports Puerto Rico. This version of the song deprecates the island and highlights the positive qualities of American life ("I’ll drive a Buick through San Juan/If there’s a road you can drive on"). The irony of this supposedly pro-American number,
Sondheim on Sondheim Sondheim on Sondheim Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010. The revue is based on a show titled "Moving On" devised by David Kernan, and produced in 2000 (Kernan also conceived "Side By Side By Sondheim"). "Moving On" ran at The Bridwell Theatre, London, for 32 performances from July 19 to August 19, 2000. The show featured some narration recorded by Sondheim; a CD of the show was released