Cool (Leonard Bernstein song)
Encyclopedia
"Cool" is a song from the musical
West Side Story
. Leonard Bernstein
composed the music and Stephen Sondheim
wrote the lyrics.
, the song is sung by Riff before the Rumble meeting. The Jets are itching to fight with the Sharks, but Riff tells them to wait for the rumble.
In the movie
, the song is placed after the rumble where Riff dies. The Jets are saddened by Riff's death and want revenge. When Action and A-Rab start fighting, a man throws an object at them and tells them to go home. Action loses it and threatens the man, forcing the Jets to bring him into a warehouse. Ice (Tucker Smith
), a character created for the film who is now their leader, has had it. He tells them they will have to play it cool in order to get through this.
The nice choreography for the film version was so severe that Eliot Feld (Baby John) caught pneumonia
from filming in the hot warehouse and cooling outside between scenes and had to be hospitalized. When filming wrapped, all the actors ritually burned their kneepads.
This song is known for its fugal
treatment of a bebop
jazz idiom.
, actor Harry Shum Jr. made a cover as Mike Chang
in the third episode of season 3 Asian F
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
. Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
composed the music and Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
wrote the lyrics.
Context
In West Side StoryWest Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, the song is sung by Riff before the Rumble meeting. The Jets are itching to fight with the Sharks, but Riff tells them to wait for the rumble.
In the movie
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
, the song is placed after the rumble where Riff dies. The Jets are saddened by Riff's death and want revenge. When Action and A-Rab start fighting, a man throws an object at them and tells them to go home. Action loses it and threatens the man, forcing the Jets to bring him into a warehouse. Ice (Tucker Smith
Tucker Smith
Tucker Smith, born Thomas William Smith , was an American actor/dancer/singer best known for his role as Ice in the movie musical West Side Story....
), a character created for the film who is now their leader, has had it. He tells them they will have to play it cool in order to get through this.
The nice choreography for the film version was so severe that Eliot Feld (Baby John) caught pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
from filming in the hot warehouse and cooling outside between scenes and had to be hospitalized. When filming wrapped, all the actors ritually burned their kneepads.
This song is known for its fugal
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
treatment of a bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
jazz idiom.
Cover Versions
In the 2011 episode of Glee (TV Series)Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, actor Harry Shum Jr. made a cover as Mike Chang
Mike Chang
Michael "Mike" Chang, Jr. is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor and dancer Harry Shum, Jr., and has appeared on Glee since the fourth episode in the first season, "Preggers", first broadcast on September 23, 2009...
in the third episode of season 3 Asian F
Asian F
"Asian F" is the third episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 47th overall. Written by series co-creator Ian Brennan and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, it first aired on Fox in the United States on October 4, 2011...