"Are you shy, are you quick, do you like the color blue?" sings Michael Winther, playing Tony from West Side Story. "I like summer, and people, and dancing," responds Sally Wilfert as Maria.

These lyrics won’t resound in most people’s memories of West Side Story, directed by Leonard Bernstein, as they were never sung in the production. However, at the "What Makes It Great?" show on Dec. 7 on Stanford Campus, conductor and composer, Rob Kapilow, informed his audience that these lyrics were part of the show only one week prior to production, and were luckily taken out as Kapilow says they were "probably the worst lyrics in the history of broadway musicals."

With unexpected humor and exceptional energy, Kapilow engaged his audience in singing and clapping various measures of songs, encouraging them to participate, saying, "luckily the lights are low and I have no idea if you’re getting it right."

Kapilow’s choice of music appealed to people with eclectic music interests as the songs in West Side Story are a fusion of classical, opera and broadway. Kapilow said Bernstein straddled these styles as he felt there was room for them all; a man who was "a true cross over" in the words of Kapilow. Kapilow also explained how the broadway music was engaging because of its catchy and familiar style.

In addition to the enjoyable style of music, Kapilow had strong vocalists who were able to sing certain measures at Kapilow’s command in order to show a specific point that Kapilow was making. Though Kapilow’s explanations were sagacious and profound, he kept them simple and quick to engage his audience. Winther, singing as Tony in West Side Story, was a brilliant performer as he was able to sing short measures in different ways, each time emphasizing a different note, lyric, or rhythm. In addition to his skill, Winther was highly entertaining both as a vocalist and as himself. In fact, he happily did an imitation of Jose Carerra’s recording in West Side Story during the question and answer section.

By using these talented vocalists, Kapilow not only showed how Bernstein artistically and adroitly composed his songs, but made the pieces more accessible to the audience. By showing how each measure is significant in bringing some irregularity to the piece that gives the character personality, Kapilow was able to point out that Bernstein was more than a popular composer, but also a classical one.

Kapilow also used his insight of the music to show how Bernstein chose his melodies and irregular chords or notes to dramatize the two characters, Maria and Tony, giving them personalities and aspirations.

Kapilow’s tremendous knowledge and background of Bernstein certainly played a key role in the performance. Kapilow was not only able to show the nuances in the pieces performed, but also Bernstein’s intent behind these pieces. He explained that Bernstein wrote out his rhythms very carefully so it sounded like he was improvising, adding spontaneity to his pieces.

In fact, Kapilow’s capacious hunger for knowledge was evident in his explanations. In explaining his research of the design of Bernstein’s catchy rhythms, he talked about reading the history of phone numbers and how seven numbers is the easiest number that people can remember.

Kapilow tended to give quick, funny tidbits of history such as these before illustrating a particular point, which gave each piece more meaning and character. For example, Kapilow explained how Berstein liked to have his vocalists sing in high octaves, and in fact, a month before "Maria" came out, he had planned for the song to be a whole octave higher. However Kapilow noted that Bernstein’s co-workers told him that the only way he could do this was to find a 500-pound Tony, and only two people in the world could do it.

Kapilow was able to inform the audience well, but his compassion for the music brought the show to life. When working with the song, "Maria," Kapilow showed the audience how Bernstein changed the last chord of the song an octave higher, which Kapilow says "takes us to a totally magical place." By expressing his great passion for the music, the show became both insightful and profound.

Kapilow will be performing again on Stanford Campus at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8 with different music but the same performers.

To order tickets by phone, by fax, by mail, or in person, contact the Stanford Ticket Office at 650-725- 2787 or order tickets online at http://livelyarts.stanford.edu.