Maria (West Side Story song) tritone in the main theme. The song is an example of the use of Lydian mode, which is the same as the major scale but with a raised 4th, giving the tritone characteristic of this piece. It was also sampled in the song Almost Like Praying by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Maria (West Side Story song) "Maria" is a song from the Broadway musical "West Side Story", sung by the lead character Tony. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song was published in 1956. "Maria" is sung by the male lead Tony when he learns
Stephen Sondheim He later matriculated to Williams College and graduated in 1950. He traces his interest in theatre to "Very Warm for May", a Broadway musical he saw when he was nine. "The curtain went up and revealed a piano," Sondheim recalled. "A butler took a duster and brushed it up, tinkling the keys. I thought that was thrilling." When Sondheim was ten years old, his father (already a distant figure) had left his mother for another woman (Alicia, with whom he had two sons). Herbert sought custody of Stephen but was unsuccessful. Sondheim explained to biographer Secrest that he was "what