'West Side Story' stars Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler defend their remake
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Loading... - Nathan Brooks
- 15 Dec 2021
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The first time Colombian-American actress Rachel Zegler saw the 1961 film West Side Story, she was enthralled by the Puerto Rican-born actress Rita Moreno twirling on a rooftop in a purple dress.
She recalls "turning to my mom and saying, 'Mommy, Who is that?' And it planted a seed. And that seed has been growing for 15 years now."
It was a similar story for Afro-Latina actress Ariana DeBose.
"I fell in love with the film when I was 7 or 8," she said. "And I loved the woman in the purple dress just dancing with furious abandon and great passion. And I wanted to be just like her."
Zegler and DeBose star in director Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story, which was originally a 1957 Broadway musical that transposed Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet onto the streets of New York City.
Zegler plays Maria, the love interest of Tony (played by Ansel Elgort) and DeBose plays Anita, who was played by Moreno in the 1961 film.
The original musical and film have been criticized for lack of representation and hurtful stereotypes, while some critics have also questioned the new adaptation, suggesting the earlier version "can't be saved."
But in an interview with NPR's Weekend Edition, DeBose said Spielberg's film "gets it right."
"It is not every day that an Afro-Latina gets to be part of the main event," DeBose said. "And her identity as an Afro-Latina informs the story. So it's not really an afterthought. It's everything about this character."
In their Weekend Edition interview, Zegler and DeBose talked to host Don Gonyea about the importance of representation and working with Moreno and the late lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim. Read More…
