I love how many people came out to see this (22,000) and when Riff and the Jets come onscreen you can hear the cheering and also people snapping their fingers along with them.
HOLLYWOOD—Nearly 22,000 people watched West Side Story while the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed the landmark Leonard Bernstein score live to the film on Friday and Saturday nights at the Hollywood Bowl.
David Newman conducted the Philharmonic in the nearly three-hour presentation, with the newly restored 1961 film – which won 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture – projected in high definition on the Bowl's giant screens.
The weekend performances, which were met with audience cheers and standing ovations, marked the beginning of a 50th anniversary mini-tour of the film and its music being performed by the nation's leading orchestras. Newman will conduct West Side Story with the New York Philharmonic on Sept. 7 and 8, and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 25.
Film producer Walter Mirisch, original cast members George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn, and more than a dozen performers who played the Jets and Sharks, attended Friday night's performance
http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2011/071111.html
