Upper West Side Story the next morning. The poem was ultimately included in a scene in which Neal is teaching an English class. Kenny Herzog of "The A.V. Club" pointed out that the episode contained various references to Shakespearian and Victorian-era literature, specifically mentioning "Romeo and Juliet". He stated that these metaphors helped move the plot forward. The initial broadcast of the episode drew 3.472 million viewers, and earned a 1.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic. "Upper West Side Story" ranked seventh place among cable series for the night in the 18–49 demographic and fourth in its timeslot, surpassed by "Teen Mom 2", "Storage
West Side Story (soundtrack) movie score (on "Kenton's West Side Story") also winning a Grammy in 1962 for "Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album" further bolstering the popularity of the movie and soundtrack. In the United States, it was the best-selling album of the 1960s, certifying three times platinum by the RIAA on November 21, 1986. Though the album was released just a few years after the release of the original broadway cast recording, it is according to "Broadway Babies" preferred by some to the earlier version both sentimentally, as the film succeeded in establishing the musical as a "popular masterpiece", and musically, as it