In 1961, before the film West Side Story was released, I couldn't wait to see it, and I believe my friends and I saw it first night in Cincinnati, which was a 30-mile drive from Middletown. I was - I believe - fourteen, and I was the youngest of a group consisting of three or four Middletown children's librarians and myself. I was so excited, it was all I thought about for weeks once we started planning the trip.
I remain completely apathetic about the new film. I haven't seen it, and I have no real desire to.