“West Side Story” still rings true in modern life and love

It’s family time again. We have planned a day to see “West Side Story.” We make a quick stop first at the Carl’s Junior on Market Street where signs of poverty are harsh reminders of how far society needs to come to encompass those who struggle to survive.

My family: David, Alicia, Dante and I arrive at the Orpheum Theater for a time capsule-like experience set in the fifties, a time we baby boomers were born into. The scenes in “West Side Story” that depict the cultural divide between the Puerto Ricans and Irish could easily mirror the hot topic of today, illegal immigration.

A part of me feels embarrassed by this underhanded way of sharing the negative stereotypes within a love story. Yet, as a historical musical, I feel the actors bring to life so much more than a lecture.

Here the four of us sit, a diversely ethnic family wishing that the hateful epithets like “spic” and “greaser” were words we could keep locked in the past. We laugh at the candid song “Officer Crumbke” where each Irish jet gang member foolishly sings about their punk attitudes. We become silent and wistful when Tony and Maria fall in love in spite of their backgrounds and peer pressure to remain apart. We clap loudly to thank the actors for their rich portrayal of these confusing times where the dances demonstrate the heat exploding between both the Puerto Rican and Irish sides.

The love story of Tony and Maria yearning to escape the craziness of their neighborhood is filled with hope for a united peaceful existence in their world. I know in my heart the strong kind of love they share as both David and I have this same all-encompassing love that knows no boundaries.

As a child of seven or so, my ability to understand the depth of social differences was very naïve. Seeing “West Side Story” then only planted the seed for a better future. Growing up in a liberal household during the sixties, I just wanted everyone to get along regardless of cultural beliefs.

Now as a fifty-year-old, I find the sting of racist separatism too crazy for what our family strives to believe in.

Surely, nowadays many Tonys and Marias have overcome the oppressive constraints of a separatist train of thought?