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 Arcilla, Justin Keyes, Pamela Myers, James Penca, Ciara Renée, Brian Sutherland, Destan Owens, and Emily Walton. The Australian production of "Sondheim on Sondheim", produced by theatre company Squabbalogic opened in October 2014 at Sydney's Seymour Centre. The production starred Blake Erickson, Rob Johnson, Louise Kelly, Debora Krizak, Phillip Lowe, Monique Sallé, Christy Sullivan, and Dean Vince. The San Diego premiere of "Sondheim on Sondheim," produced by Moonlight Stage Productions, was directed and choreographed by original developer of the original Broadway production DJ Gray and musical directed by Elan McMahan. It ran at the Avo Playhouse in Vista, California from February