These star lovers head to the west side.
Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort are the new Tony and Maria in town in the remake of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” The musical’s trailer was released on Wednesday, and after a year of delays due to the COVID pandemic, the film is ready.
The teaser is filled with scenes showing Manhattan from the 1950s and the well-known street war bands. The iconic song full of passion “Tonight” serves as the background melody for the trailer.
Against a backdrop of many colored Jets and Sharks dancing, Mary tells Tony, “I’ve never seen you before.”
“You’re not Puerto Rican,” he says curiously. “That’s all right?” Tony responds, already falling in love with Mary after just a meeting at a school dance.
Another photo shows Maria wearing her iconic white dress and red belt as she prepares with her friend Anita and brother Bernardo. Even Rita Moreno, the protagonist of the original 1961 film, appears. She is also the executive producer of the new adaptation.
The original romantic drama was adapted from the 1957 Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. The groundbreaking film won 10 Academy Awards in 1962, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Actress (for playing Anita de Moreno) and Best Costume Design.
The 2021 version also stars Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Ana Isabelle, Corey Stoll and Brian by Arcy James.
Last month it was announced that “West Side Story” would not reopen on Broadway. The show’s producer, Kate Horton, announced that the 2020 Broadway recovery would not return even though New York declared in May that theaters could return to 100% capacity on September 14th.
“This difficult and painful decision comes after we have explored every possible path to a successful career, and unfortunately, for various reasons, reopening is not a practical proposition,” Horton said. “We thank all the creative and brilliant artists who brought‘ West Side Story ’to life on Broadway theater, even for such a short time, especially the extraordinary performance company, 33 of whom debuted on Broadway in this production. “
“West Side Story” will hit theaters on December 10th.