[thewordisno]

Which Act is your favorite, based on the songs sung in it?

I personally prefer Act Two for several reasons:
* I really like 'A boy like that/I have a love'
* Maria is usually preformed very poorly, leaving the whole show sour!
* The 'Somewhere' Ballet is really cool!

WSS is my fav. show ever, and I wanted to get all you other junkies out their talkin' it up again!

(Oh, right now I am listening to the LP on 45 instead of 33 1/3, and enjoying everyone sound like chipmunks!"

[CassaNoah]

I must say that I was quite torn. I played Riff, so naturally Act Two wasn't as great for me, but, there is MORE music in Act One, so in the strictest musical sense, it's also better (Cool, America and Tonight Quintet are amazing musical achievements). Act Two has the sheer lack of music going against it (and the pitiful I Feel Pretty) as the opener, but I Have A Love/A Boy Like That to redeem it. But, Act Two is my preference because I LOVE the dramatic flow of the whole Act, especially Maria growing up, Tony despairing and Anita really changing as a character. So, it provides much greater dramatic opportunities for everyone but Tony (and the dead guys), so it got my vote. Glad to have another WSS fan to talk about this with!

[Sean]

Act I b/c there are more songs in it!! Like Cool, Maria, Tonight Montage, America, its has all the great upbeat songs that everyone enjoys!! even though act II has some great songs too, but i perfer act I more!!

[leah98im]

[Leslie]

OMG Yeah I def can't pick. I ADORE the instrumentals of the beginning of Act 1, but I also adore the Tonight sequence and A Boy Like That/I Have A Love from Act 2. I hate I Feel Pretty, tho. I dunno!

Les

[Leslie]

Oh yeah! I also love Maria (fave song) and Cool (also awesome!).

Les

[turkeyHONK!]

I really like the first act. "Dance at the Gym," "America," "Cool," need I say more?

[Brittannie06]

I love the whole show, but if I had to pick an act that I favored over the other, I would say the first act, because I love the song "Maria," and I also adore the quintet, as well as America and the Dance at the Gym. I guess I just like that Act 1 is more uplifting than Act 2, although having played Maria, I would say that my part specifically was defintely more challenging and enjoyable to play during Act 2.

[RainbowJude]

Which act of West Side Story is your favourite, based on the songs sung in it? Act I: "Something's Coming" is one of the greatest male "I want" songs in the musical theatre canon; two of the all-time great love duets are present ("Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart"); "Tonight (Quintet)" is a wonderfully complex contrapunctual piece; overall, the first half is musically thrilling and superbly structured.

Later days
David

[mantarnia]

It would apear that a lot of polls on this site are only showing one option. could this please be corrected.

[Aimee]

I'll ask about it for you.

[badbananahabit]

All my favourite songs are sang near respectively in the first Act.

[lc06]

My high school put on a production of West Side Story my sophmore year and the girl who played Maria had a really outstanding voice and was an amazing actress so I'm kind of biased on the second act because I love "A Boy Like That" and the song Tony and Maria sing and the Finale because the way the girl sang/acted always brought me to tears. On a more non-biased side I love the first act because the songs are fun and get stuck in your head.