Last chance to catch ‘West Side Story’

I was 14 or so when I first saw "West Side Story." I was living in Hawaii at the time, and I'd gone with a bunch of other kids to see the film at an outdoor theater at the naval air station at Barbers Point.

When the film was over, as everybody else trailed out, I stayed in my seat. I didn't want anyone to see me crying.

Movies have always affected me emotionally. And that's especially true for movies that explore great themes, such as the Romeo and Juliet plotline that Ernest Lehman (working from Arthur Laurents' stage play book) wrote for the Jerome Robbins/Robert Wise-directed film.

And let's not ignore the musical score of Leonard Bernstein (with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim).

"West Side Story" is the subject of a special screening at a couple of local Regal Cinemas-owned theaters: Northtown Mall and Coeur d'Alene's Riverstone Stadium. Two showings will be held at both theaters Wednesday, at 2 and 7 p.m.

Once again, you can watch a young Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer fall in love, watch the Jets and the Sharks dance-fight and enjoy the Oscar-winning performances of Rita Moreno and George Chakiris (the film won five Oscars in all). And all on a big screen.

Just don't let anyone catch you crying at movie's end.

(BTW: Here's a great interview with the film's screenwriter, Lehman, on how he practiced his craft. Lehman was the guy who did scripts for such films as "Sabrina," "North by Northwest," "The Sound of Music" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?")