More than a century after his birth, Leonard Bernstein remains a pop culture phenomenon. Hot off the success of A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper will direct and star in a biopic about multi-hyphenate who many consider the most important musician in American history.
At the same time, America’s most successful filmmaker is remaking the treasured 1962 Best Picture Oscar winner West Side Story. Someone with Spielberg’s track record of blockbusters is in a position to pick only the best. So it only makes sense that he would tap one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, Gustavo Dudamel—who made his long-awaited Ravinia debut last summer conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and working with students from Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs—to conduct Bernstein’s own beloved New York Philharmonic in his iconic score for this hotly anticipated remake.
Acolytes and neophytes alike will have the opportunity to see the original as part of Ravinia’s multi-season celebration of Bernstein this summer with the CSO performing the score live to the film, which will be shown on giant screens in the Pavilion and on the Lawn on Friday, July 12. “This is a must-attend event for anyone who has never seen West Side Story on the big screen in all its saturated-color splendor and with the world’s best orchestra interpreting the hit-filled score,” said Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman. “People accustomed to seeing the film on TV or streaming it on a personal device will be astounded by the immense joy generated when 10,000 audience members laugh at the same joke in a song like ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’ or sob to ‘Somewhere.’ This is what Ravinia is all about.”