Take a look at new images from director Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story", adapting the original 'street gang' Broadway musical, inspired by Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", starring Ansel Elgort as 'Tony' and Rachel Zegler as 'Maria', targeting a December 2020 Disney release:
Cast includes the 'Jets' members 'Anybodys' (Ezra Menas), 'Mouthpiece' (Ben Cook), 'Action' (Sean Harrison Jones), Jets leader 'Riff' (Mike Faist), 'Baby John' (Patrick Higgins)...
...Maria’s brother and 'Sharks' leader 'Bernardo' (David Alvarez), Sharks members 'Quique' (Julius Anthony Rubio)...
...'Chago' (Ricardo Zayas), 'Chino' (Josh Andrés Rivera), 'Braulio' (Sebastian Serra) and 'Pipo' (Carlos Sánchez Falú).
Spielberg organized open casting calls for the new film in New York City April 29, 2018 and Orlando Florida May 25, 2018.
Casting was seeking actors to play four leading roles: 'Maria' (18-20), 'Tony' (18-23), 'Bernardo' (20-24) and 'Anita' (20-24 years): "...All four actors must be able to sing. Maria, Anita and Bernardo must speak Spanish. Dancing experience is a plus..."
The 1961 musical drama "West Side Story" starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins...
...adapted the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, inspired by William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". The film won 10 Academy Awards, including 'Best Picture'.
"...set in the 'Upper West Side' neighborhood of New York City in the mid 1950's, the musical explores the rivalry between the 'Jets' and the 'Sharks', two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, with members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, taunted by the Jets.
"Young protagonist Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, 'Riff', falls in love with 'Maria', the sister of 'Bernardo', leader of the Sharks..."
Elmer Bernstein's score includes the songs "Something's Coming", "Maria", "America", "Somewhere", "Tonight", "Jet Song", "I Feel Pretty", "A Boy Like That", "One Hand, One Heart", "Gee, Officer Krupke" and "Cool".