Are you a West Side Story fanatic looking to expand your musical palette? Have you wanted to explore other musicals but don’t know where to start? We break down the West Side Story soundtrack and give you new tune recommendations suggested by many of your favorite West Side Story songs.
Jet Song
If you love the explosive character-building Jet Song, you’ll enjoy When You’re an Addams from The Addams Family musical! This bright opening number goes into detail about the Addams Family with a groove that makes you want to dance along.
Listen to the original Broadway cast recording of When You’re an Addams on Spotify, or perform this piece with your own creepy crew with music from J.W. Pepper.
Maria
If you love Tony proclaiming his love for Maria in this ballad, you’ll enjoy My First Love Song from the lesser-known The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. This duet consists of the downtrodden Sir sharing his unfiltered feelings for his new love, with her crooning to Sir in return.
Listen to the original Broadway cast sing My First Love Song on Spotify, or declare your love with this song with music from J.W. Pepper.
Tonight
If you love the romantic duet with Tony and Maria cementing their love, you’ll enjoy The Next Ten Minutes from The Last Five Years. This duet takes place right in the middle of the musical when Jamie proposes to his girlfriend Cathy. It is a beautiful song that highlights the highs of their relationship and emphasizes how they love each other despite their flaws.
Listen to the 2014 film stars Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan sing The Next Ten Minutes on Spotify, or find a partner to join you in song with music from J.W. Pepper.
I Feel Pretty
If you love Maria singing about how beautiful she feels after falling in love, you’ll enjoy I Enjoy Being a Girl from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song. In this solo piece, showgirl Linda flaunts her femininity and confidence before a date.
Listen to the original Broadway cast recording of I Enjoy Being a Girl on Spotify, or grab your girls to sing this SSA arrangement from J.W. Pepper.
Tonight (Quintet)
If you love the pre-battle razzle-dazzle of Tonight (Quintet), you’ll enjoy One Day More from Les Misérables. It’s a booming first-act closer with lots of intensity from the entire cast. Sung the night before a large uprising, all of the characters are brooding and anticipating the events of the next day.
Listen to the original Broadway cast recording of One Day More on Spotify, or learn all the impressive harmonies with one of the many arrangements of this piece available from J.W. Pepper.
Somewhere
If you love Tony and Maria fantasizing about a place they could be peacefully in love, you’ll enjoy Somewhere That’s Green from Little Shop of Horrors. In this solo, love interest Audrey wishes she could leave her abusive boyfriend for protagonist Seymour. She imagines a suburban home where she and Seymour could settle down and be happy together, a place far different than their current Skid Row home.
Listen to the 2003 Broadway cast recording of Somewhere That’s Green on Spotify, or learn the solo yourself with music from J.W. Pepper.
We hope this list will help you find some new tunes to add to your musical theatre playlists, or at least listen to and compare once you finish a full listen of the West Side Story soundtrack!
