West Side Story will be released on December 10 thin American theaters.
West Side Story has just been postponed for a few days. But in the meantime the promotional campaign continues:20th Century Studios has in fact released a featurette that takes us behind the scenes of Steven Spielberg ‘s film, based on the legendary musical by Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. The work was already adapted for the cinema in 1961, as we know well.
In the featurette we can see some moments taken from rehearsals and backstage, with Spielberg providing directions to the cast, the orchestra and other collaborators. At the center of the story we will find two street gangs in 1957 New York, the Americans Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks : the first is part of Tony ( Ansel Elgort ), while the second is Maria ( Rachel Zegler ), two boys who live in love prohibited.
The cast
The cast includes Ansel Elgort ( Tony ), Rachel Zegler ( Maria ), Rita Moreno ( Valentina , owner of the shop where Tony works ), David Alvarez ( Bernardo , Maria’s brother ), Ariana DeBose ( Anita ), Josh Andres Rivera ( Chino ) , Mike Faist ( Riff ), Ana Isabelle ( Rosalía ), Corey Stoll ( Agent Schrank ) andBrian d’Arcy James ( Sergeant Krupke ).
The screenplay
The script is the work of playwright Tony Kushner , Pulitzer Prize winner for Angels in America , as well as screenwriter for Munich, Lincoln and Barriere . The film is obviously based on the original musical by Arthur Laurents , Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein , winner of six Tony Awards.