1961’sWest Side Storyis often considered to beone of the greatest musicals ofall time.Robert WiseandJerome Robbinsbeautifully brought the incredible music fromStephen SondheimandLeonard Bernsteinto life, givingShakespeare’sRomeo and Julieta modern update with star-crossed lovers from two different communities in 1950s New York City. Remaking a film with such a storied legacy asWest Side Storymay have seemed like an impossible task, butSteven Spielbergmanaged to reinvigorate the iconic musical by making tactful, creative revisions to the original source material alongside screenwriterTony Kushner. Although 1961’sWest Side Storyis a classic, it’s not without its flaws, as the casting ofNatalie Woodas Puerto Rican character Maria remains a stain on the film’s legacy. By recasting the role withRachel Zegler(who is currently starring inThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Spielberg’s version ofWest Side Storywas able to improve upon its predecessor.
West Side Story
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
1961’s ‘West Side Story’ Whitewashed Maria
West Side Storyfeels timeless because of the inspiration it draws from Shakespeare’sRomeo & Julietto explore how generational hatred can drive two communities apart. In the original film, the young Puerto Rican woman Maria (Wood) falls in love with her classmate Tony (Richard Beymer), a member of the Jets gang. Tony’s friends in the Jets encourage him to be more violent and lash out at the Puerto Rican sharks whenever they come into contact with each other. Maria’s brother’s girlfriend, Anita (Rita Moreno, whoplayed a different role in the 2021 remake), encourages her to go to the school dance with a member of their community. Despite the pressures that they both feel to stay within their selective circles, Tony and Maria fall in love. But just like Romeo and Juliet,they pay the ultimate price for their relationship.
While the story ofWest Side Storyis powerful,the original film struggled to make the relationship between Tony and Maria work because of the whitewashing. Wood’s casting sticks out like a sore thumb, as she’s clearly trying to emulate an experience that she doesn’t understand. Wood can’t be faulted for her casting, but her miscasting is particularly noticeable during the scenes that she shares with Moreno andGeorge Chakiris, who plays Bernardo, the leader of the sharks. Moreno and Chakiris’ performances show the beauty of Puerto Rican culture, particularly during the performance of “America.” It’sthe rivalry between the cultures of the Jets and Sharksthat adds tension to the narrative.
1961’sWest Side Storynever makes Maria feel like an authentic member of the Sharks. The romance between Maria and Tony doesn’t become as emotional as it was in theoriginal Broadway productionbecause it never feels like the two characters have different worldviews. Even though the film shows the Jets and Sharks in constant conflict with each other, it never takes the time to flesh out the Puerto Rican culture in order to show what makes it so unique. The lack of detail takes the specificity out of the story, making the dark ending feel like it was written for tragedy’s sake.
Rachel Zegler’s Casting in ‘West Side Story’ Was Authentic Representation
Spielberg’s version ofWest Side Storydidn’t just replicate the original. The film spends more time fleshing out New York in the late 1950s, and showing why anti-authoritarian adolescent groups come into conflict with the police department. While the film’s ensemble does a good job of embodying the performances that came before, Zegler’s performance as Maria is a significant improvement over Wood, as Zegler herself is Latina. Theauthentic casting choice made the story’s themes more prominent, as the audience has a genuine reason to sympathize with Maria when she is pulled between her love of Tony and her loyalty to her community. The ending is more heartbreaking because Maria is able to hold on to both of her loyalties without feeling like an outsider.
Maria’s initial meeting with Tony (Ansel Elgort) at the school dance has an entirely different context. In the original film, Tony and Maria express their love for each other through a musical number that does nothing but highlight their mutual attraction to each other. In Spielberg’s version, the words of “Maria” are the same, but Tony and Maria are forced to dance behind bleachers so that their relationship will not be discovered.Zegler shows how Maria’s love for Tony goes against everything she’s been taught about the Jets. Since Anita (Ariana DeBose) and Bernardo (David Alvarez) demonize the Jets, Maria is taken by surprise when she sees how sensitive Tony is. Zegeler’s performance inthe iconic musical number “I Feel Pretty”feels more jovial as a result.
Zegler’s Performance Makes ‘West Side Story’ Feel More Tragic
Zegler’s performance is more effective because it actually feels like she is in danger.Spielberg’s best filmsall contain an element of suspense, and there’s a great sense of tension in the scenes that lead up to the final conflict between the two gangs. Tony’s best friend Riff (Mike Faist) encourages him to be more violent, and the fight scenes between the Jets and Sharks contain the brutality that the original film lacked. The final scene asks a lot of Zegler, as she ties together all the themes of the film. She has lost both her brother and her beloved, and she is now capable of killing because she knows what it is to hate. It’s through Zegler’s heartbreaking performance of a traumatized Maria that the film ends on such a tragic and affecting note.
While manyremakes of classic filmsexist purely for the sake of nostalgia, the originalWest Side Storywas limited in its effectiveness due to the whitewashing. A remake was required to make the story feel like a lived-in experience and fulfill the original production’s intentions. A story about racial discrimination and systematic hatred required authentic casting, and Zegler’s beautiful performance made the tragedy cut even deeper.
