In 1958, two Broadway hits, West Side Story and The Music Man, had a fateful showdown, and only one came out on top. This year, we are finally getting a rematch.
Leonard and Felicia Bernstein entered the glittering Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria on Sunday evening, April 13, 1958, with high expectations. It was his time, after all. He had inaugurated a new concert hall in Tel Aviv; he was in the middle of his first season as music-director designate of the New York Philharmonic; his first Young People’s Concerts were a smash on national television; and on this night his fourth Broadway musical, West Side Story, was up for six Tony awards, including the big one: Best Musical.
"And the winner is...