English Audio Request

"America"'s Analysis
West Side Story, An American in Paris or Lalaland are some of the most famous/renowned American musicals. Lalaland is one of the lightest hearted of them, dealing with getting success/stardom in Hollywood, love, and performing jazz music, while West Side Story – one of the longest running on Broadway - deals with more societal, economic and political issues. As for An American in Paris, it deals with more historical facts on a Gershwin score.
Back in the fifties, immigration was still a major issue in the States. In the wake/At the beginning of the Cold War with the USSR, the choice of the name was a double wink to the era. Not only does it remind us of the tense political atmosphere of these times, (the US vs Cuba – West vs East), but also of the very same district of Manhattan where Puerto Ricans first settled on their arrival in New York. In ‘America’, one of the most renowned songs of the musical, (Spanish/Latin name) which pays tribute to the continent and country – a band of boys and girls, both Puerto Ricans, sing and answer to each other on a lively and rhythmic music/score. Girls, in fancy and Spanish style dresses boast their pride to be in America, (you forget I'm in America) laugh at the boys (bye bye). They have reached their American Dream (washing machine) and their freshly acquired independence, while the boys are homesick and sardonic, realising how much it is harsh to achieve one’s dream (go to San Juan) Girls criticise/question many societal topics/issues, such as birth control or woman’s plight/fate in poor countries (population growing, natives steaming, money owing), whereas boys talk about jobs, prices, or living conditions in New York (charge twice, 12 in a room, wait tables and shine shoes, stay on your side).