West Side Story: Perfect TragedyVoiceover: Movies that Move Us • Season 2026, Episode 11
Apr 6, 2026 • 32m
Elizabeth Hansen, founder and owner of Dramafy, joins Heather for a discussion of the Leonard Bernstein classic West Side Story (1961) that includes why musicals reach us so deeply and who the real underdog is of this urban tragedy.
West Side Story was the highest grossing film of 1961 and won 10 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor & Actress, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Musical Scoring. In 1997, the film was selected for the American National Film Registry.
Elizabeth Hansen is the executive director of Utah Lyric Opera, a writer, and actor. She holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute.