Brandeis is hosting yet another event in Bernstein’s name at the Dreitzer Art Gallery at the Spingold Theater Center. After last year’s seemingly endless celebrations of the conductor and composer, another celebration for Bernstein seems highly redundant. However, this small, well-curated gallery does not further exhaust students. Instead, the exhibit reinvigorates an old love for the composer which may have been  lost after your fifth Bernstein event. 

The National Museum of American Jewish History curated the gallery, and the exhibit examines Leonard Bernstein’s life through a distinctly Jewish lens. The curator highlighted his work in Israel and his proficiency in Hebrew, displaying the scores he wrote with Hebrew lyrics, his notes and letters in his own Hebrew handwriting. Many people are not aware of Bernstein’s extensive portfolio of Jewish music and are only familiar with West Side Story. Seeing more of his work was refreshing, to say the least. 

The exhibit also emphasized Bernstein’s personal life without reducing him to a closeted, pained artist. It is not some great secret that Bernstein was gay, and his wife even spoke of it, but other Bernstein events on campus seem not to say much else about his personal life. In this gallery, they mention his sexuality, but spend much more time examining Bernstein’s work in racial equality. 

A newspaper article title extolling Bernstein for casting “Negroes in Normal Roles” jumps out at every viewer. Next to the article were letters from Bernstein himself, in which he made room for people of color at prestigious institutes that previously would not allow them in, such as the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute. He also  wrote roles specifically for performers of color and created mixed-race casts for his musicals “West Side Story” and “On The Town,” which were highly controversial at the time. Without turning him into a white savior, the curators of the exhibit highlight Bernstein’s passion for racial equality and justice.

The highlights of the exhibit would have to be the high-tech pieces in the gallery. In the first section, a large screen sits in front of a table upon which rest wooden blocks that look like children’s toys. Each toy is intricately decorated and labeled with the title of a piece by Bernstein. When placed in a glowing blue section of the table, the toy triggers a specific song to play as information about the piece shows on the screen. It was exciting, both as a piece of interesting and informative technology and as a piece in the exhibit. 

An incredible piece at the end of visitors’ walks through the small gallery highlighted how much “West Side Story” has permeated culture, playing songs from the original movie side-by-side with a variety of parodies of the song. The parodies’ sources ranged from “The Simpsons” to “The Muppets” to “Saturday Night Live” to Cher. The sheer quantity of satirical performances that matched the original perfectly was enough to make gallery-goers laugh, experience chills and even sing along. The varied performances of “Maria” were especially exciting with so many different styles. Some were funny, some were touching and some remixed the song, bringing a Latin vibe that elevated the piece. 

As the exhibit was organized by the National Museum of American Jewish History, it made sure to emphasize Bernstein’s Jewish heritage through displays of his mezuzah, seder plate, Haggadah and more. The Haggadah, a Passover prayerbook that details the Passover seder, was open to the page with the music for Dayenu, a very well-known song sung specifically on Passover. It was incredible to see that the music in his Haggadah and the music in mine growing up were identical. 

The Jewish lens through which this exhibit viewed Leonard Bernstein’s life illuminated so much about his perspective on music, race and life. Despite the excess of Bernstein-centric events, this exhibit is interesting, engaging and emotional.