The song America , referring to the dreams and difficulties of immigrants in the United States and proudly intoned by her character, Anita, at the beginning of West Side Story , made it famous. Rita Moreno, age 86, will co-produce and play in the remake of this drama lyric. The actress was initially not part of the project, which will be the first movie musical to Steven Spielberg.
«I’m very curious to see what he does», she stated to the AFP in may of last year about the successful developer. «I am very nervous as well. There are a lot of clichés in the film, but I am sure he will avoid them».
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«One of the greatest musical performances ever filmed,» according to Spielberg
Steven Spielberg had already sent the first signal at the casting and searched for candidates of hispanic origin for the major roles of Maria, Anita and Bernardo. In the film’s original, Anita was the only one of these three characters interpreted by a person of hispanic origin, in this case Rita Moreno.
«From our initial discussions, we wanted to include Rita Moreno in our production,» said Steven Spielberg, quoted in a press release sent by the press secretary of the actress, who is currently the poster of the series from Netflix day by day . «Its Anita is one of the greatest musical performances ever filmed and one of my favorites,» said the famous director 71 years of age.
«We have created a role for her and we feel more than lucky that Rita brings her extraordinary talents as an actress as well as his thorough knowledge of West Side Story to this production as executive producer,» explained Steven Spielberg.
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Rita Moreno will play the role of Valentina, a modernized version of the grocer Doc
In the remake, Rita Moreno will play the role of Valentina, a modernized version of Doc, the grocer with a big heart played in the original film by Ned Glass. «Even in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined revisiting this seminal work,» commented Rita Moreno. «And be called upon by Steven Spielberg, it’s simply exciting.»
West Side Story is an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet , located in the neighborhood of Lincoln Square in Manhattan, part of the Upper West Side, where there are two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets.
The musical will also be the subject of a new production on Broadway, created by the director of the belgian Ivo van Hove, for the first time, a choreography different from that imagined by Jerome Robbins.
● America , the unforgettable song of Rita Moreno
