Spielberg’s West Side Story

[natashalost]

Darren Criss mentioned in a recent interview with Broadway.com that he wants Grant Gustin, best known for playing the title role in The Flash on the CW, to play Riff. Even mentioning how he studied ballet at Julliard. Gustin is 28 so he seems like he could fit the part well.

Criss also said he would love to play Riff or Action (the character they created to sing “Cool” in the ‘61 movie) in the movie, but adding that he isn’t a dancer and likely couldn’t keep up with Peck’s choreography.

(I would link the interview but I’m on mobile right now. It’s his interview on Live at Five, on their YouTube page right now!)

[AEA AGMA SM]

I hope to god that the first thing Kushner did when sitting down to start his screenplay is drop ALL of the made up gang slang. Let Laurents spin in his grave for eternity for daring to "desecrate" his ever so important contribution to the show's legacy.

[BJR]

Kad said: "I'm more curious about Tony Kushner's work on this than Spielberg's."

Same. And especially since I've read so many interviews where he talks about obsessively rewriting and tweaking it. That could just be Kushner being Kushner, but also, I wonder what on earth is so new that it needs endless tweaks??

[Consistency]

AEA AGMA SM said: "I hope to god that the first thing Kushner did when sitting down to start his screenplay is drop ALL of the made up gang slang. Let Laurents spin in his grave for eternity for daring to "desecrate" his ever so important contribution to the show's legacy."

I love “West Side Story,” and I think Laurents’ book is great overall, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a production that didn’t make me cringe a little at the line “cut the frabber jabber.”

I don’t think it’s necessary to spice up the language with lots of f-bombs and the like, but I wouldn’t get worked up if Kushner updated some of that slang.

[BrodyFosse123]

Here's hoping this is kept in its original 1957 context and made into a beautiful period piece, which Spielberg does so well.  Updating it to make it more realistic but still keeping it in its original timeline.  

[darquegk]

Part of the question is that the ages of the gang members have always been sort of... nebulous. Are they hardened street toughs or innocent kids of barely high school age suddenly playing a dangerous game? Or is it a mixture of the above? If I recall, Tony is implied (maybe in the play, or just in the novel) to be seventeen and the oldest of all of them. This lends the play some of its tragedy, but also makes casting for the gang at large difficult to do without coming across as Dawson Casting.

[darquegk]

In "Finishing the Hat," Sondheim discusses how he and Laurents had originally conceived the Jets as extremely childlike, forever playing "spaceman" and obsessed with comic-book imagery of space flight and rocket ships. Almost all of this was rubbed away, but what was left instead was an underdeveloped motif of hard bop jazz- most of the "Jet slang" is intended as a vocalization of the sounds of 1959-era experimental jazz. "Craco-jacko" and "rigga tigga tum tum" are drum fills, "oobily oo, oooo" is a sax riff- see even the gang leader's name, Riff.

The trouble is, the idea didn't play intuitively, and the script never mentions it explicitly, so as soon as Laurents left the room, the idea just became "the Jets are weird dudes who talk gibberish when they get excited."

[lovebwy]

See, I always got that the Jets speak was picked up by them from beatnicks and jazz. It's just very hard to pull off today.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

First of all, leave the novel out of the picture. It was a tie-in novelization to promote the movie, and it's highly unlikely that Laurents ever consulted on any of its content in the first place, though, considering what he claimed he wanted to do with the 2009 revival (as opposed to what he actually did), someone must have divulged details to him at some point. Treat this based solely on what's in the script.

Based solely on what's in the script, I would argue that "innocent kids of barely high school age suddenly playing a dangerous game" fits the bill way more than "hardened street toughs," or at the very least that it's more a mixture of both.

[Kad]

I do wonder if they will keep some of the film's improvements on the stage show, such as the integration of the Sharks into "America."

[Wayman_Wong]

I've never known Tony to do tons of dancing in ''West Side Story,'' but I wonder if Justin Peck will take advantage of Ansel Elgort's dance background. For five years, he was a student in the N.Y. City Ballet's School of American Ballet. In April, Elgort, who says he loves to dance and dances everyday, showed up for City Ballet's Spring Gala. He went with his ballerina girlfiend, Violetta Komyshan.

Small world, but the Spring Gala celebrated the legacy of Jerome Robbins, which, of course, included ''West Side Story.''

Also at the gala: Leslie Odom, Jr., who workshopped ''Carousel'' & raved about Peck's work: ''It was witty and singular and confident. He studied Jerome Robbins so he’s trying his best to be everything that man was and add to that. To push the form forward.”

[SonofRobbieJ]

I hope so, Kad.  That one change is why Chakiris has an Oscar.  Otherwise, Bernardo doesn't have much of an impact.  

Sorry to be a stickler, but Action has always been a character in the musical.  Action sings the lead in Gee, Officer Krupke in the stage version.  The invented character is Ice who basically replaces the character of Diesel from the stage show.  Ice sings lead in Cool where Krupke would be in the stage show.  It will be interesting to see if they keep the stage placement.  I generally think the movie placement makes more sense, but I'm interested in seeing what this version does.

And Ben Platt is wonderfully talented.  And his father's connections helped.  Both things can be true.  The other true story is Ben Platt isn't a Tony.  He's a Baby John until he becomes a Gladhand.  No shame in that game.  I was a Baby John and am now very much a Gladhand.  

[teddy1996]

i’m a little iffy about this remake. cause the original movie is such a masterpiece and it’s so iconic and it’s in my top 3 films of all time. it would be weird to see a remake imo. but if they are gonna do a remake, they need to make this right. and there was brown face and white actors playing hispanic in the original film and i love that steven wanted a puerto rican cast for this remake. 15-25 are the ages for the actors and actresses. hmmm that is a tough one. cause naya rivera would have been a great anita but she is 31.

[dramamama611]

Its about how they LOOK not how old they are.

[teddy1996]

i would love to see dark skinned latinos casted in this movie. it would be great representation.

[Musical Master]

Hmmm. How interesting.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Kushner-Reveals-Exciting-New-Details-On-Steven-Spielberg-Remake-of-WEST-SIDE-STORY-20181023

[teddy1996]

i love the fact that they are taking more things from the broadway musical for this version. it sounds so promising. the casting needs to be perfect for this. i am very excited for the rest of the cast.

[bk]

teddy1996 said: "i would love to see dark skinned latinos casted in this movie. it would be great representation."

I hate to be the one but someone has to stop the madness: Casted is not a word.  The past tense of cast is cast.

[dramamama611]

^This. Pet peeve of mine, too.

[BrodyFosse123]

Thrilled to read that Kushner is using the original 1957 Broadway production's book and adding realism to it thus keeping the late 50s idiom and life in NYC during that period to the screenplay.  The 1961 multi-Oscar winning film was itself an adaptation of the original 1957 Broadway production.  This one will be its own adaptation of the original 1957 Broadway production.  They're not remaking/adapting the 1961 film so enough with this comparison talk.  

 

[dramamama611]

Oh, please.  Of COURSE there will be comparisons.  It's natural.  

[BwayLB]

BrodyFosse123 said: "Thrilled to read that Kushner is using the original 1957 Broadway production's book and adding realism to it thus keeping the late 50s idiom and life in NYC during that period to the screenplay. The 1961 multi-Oscar winning film was itself an adaptation of the original 1957 Broadway production. This one will be its own adaptation of the original 1957 Broadway production. They're not remaking/adapting the 1961 film so enough with this comparison talk.

"

I actually never saw WSS in its original Broadway glory. But this has given me faith in this remake. All we need is worthy casting

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

From the sounds of the article with Kushner, it seems like the score will be untouched and showcased. Regarding the trifecta of WSS, book/score/choreography, the choreography will be the most susceptible to be changed.

[teddy1996]

my dream casting for the rest of the cast:

Anita: Naya Rivera or a newcomer

Bernardo: a newcomer

Riff: Grant Gustin

Maria: Cierra Ramirez or a newcomer

Officer Krupke: John C Reilly

Chino: Anthony Ramos

Doc: Ted Danson

Anybodys: Camren Bicondova

[Tom5]

Many years ago Sydney Pollack remade Sabrina (Not a musical) fixing all of its small and large problems and it turned out to be a very fine film. But a year later it was just an asterisk.  Same here?