A 1950s retelling of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet is making its way into film again. West Side Story tells the story of Tony and Maria, teens on opposite sides of two street gangs (the Sharks and the Jets) in New York City’s Upper West Side. After an original production that went onto perform 732 times before going on tour and later receiving several Tony Award nominations. The ground-breaking musical would later be followed by a film in the 1960s and it continues to be a major classic today.
In 2019, Steven Spielberg is taking on this iconic musical drama and bringing it back to the big screen almost 60 years later. And the newly announced cast members are even more exciting than a return to the Upper West Side.
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17-year-old Rachel Zegler has been cast as Maria for her film debut. She will be starring alongside The Fault in Our Stars star Ansel Elgort who has been cast as Tony. Joining them are Award-winning Broadway actress Ariana DeBose as Anita and David Alvarez as Bernardo.
While official release dates and a complete cast list for the film aren’t out yet, we do still have a lot to look forward to from Spielberg’s West Side Story. The film is set to include all of Leonard Bernstein’s original songs and some of the original film’s most memorable dance numbers. Now, with some of the major stars finally announced, we just have to wait for more details on this exciting musical.
