The new film adaptation of Lenard Bernstein’s West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, will receive worldwide theatrical release on December 10th. Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay and Gustavo Dudamel is conducting the New York Philharmonic in the score revised by David Newman. In the main roles are Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (María), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo) ande Mike Faist (Riff).
Spielberg says: “This film is probably the most daunting of my career. West Side Story is arguably the greatest score ever written in the theater, and that’s not lost on any of us. It’s very intimidating to take a masterpiece and make it through different eyes and different sensibilities without compromising the integrity of what is generally considered the greatest music ever written for the theater. But I believe that great stories should be told over and over again, in part to reflect different perspectives and moments in time into the work. »
And he continues: « The message of West Side Story is what is going to live forever. It is even more timely today than it was in 1957, when they mounted the production on Broadway. Even more timely than it was with the film in ’61–’62. What it’s about is what we are living in this country today – a time of tragic division and distrust, and the waste of human life through violence, racism and xenophobia. And even though the story is a tragedy, like all great tragedies, including Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story suggests that hope can be born amid devastation and despair, and thanks to Bernstein’s and Sondheim’s score, there’s a feeling that despite all the sorrow and ugliness, love transcends. So don’t ever give up! That’s why I wanted to tell this story right now. It is even more about now than it was about then. »
