Meet Anita from Steven Spielberg West Side Story Ariana DeBose
- Details
- Category: Latino News
- Published: Monday, 15 July 2019 15:31
- Written by Lupe R Haas
The first look at the new Anita in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of WEST SIDE STORY was revealed. Ariana DeBose is the latest actor to play the role that Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera made famous. Meet the new star of Spielberg's film.
Ariana DeBose first broke out on FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" and she went on to do musical theater on and off Broadway. She's Afro-Puerto Rican on her father's side, and she won the coveted role of Anita, a role that made Rita Moreno an Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress, and cemented Chita Rivera as a Broadway star.
Anita is Maria's (Rachel Zegler) fiery sister in WEST SIDE STORY. The updated version brings back Rita Moreno playing Valentina and also stars Ansel Elgort as Tony.
Official Synopsis:
An adaptation of the original Broadway musical, WEST SIDE STORY explores young love and tensions between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks on the streets of 1957 New York. The cast also includes Ansel Elgort (Tony); Rachel Zegler (Maria); Ana Isabelle (Rosalia); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d'Arcy James (Officer Krupke); Curtiss Cook (Abe) and Academy Award®-winner Rita Moreno, who plays Valentina and also serves as one of the film's Executive Producers. The film is now in production for Twentieth Century Fox and The Walt Disney Studios.
WEST SIDE STORY is produced and directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The film has been adapted for the screen from the original 1957 Broadway musical, which was written by Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Tony Award®-winner Justin Peck will choreograph the musical numbers in the film. Also leading the production are Tony Award®-winning producer Kevin McCollum and Academy Award®-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger.
The film's music team includes renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who will helm the recording of Bernstein's iconic score; Academy Award®-nominated composer and conductor David Newman (Anastasia) who will be arranging the score for the new adaptation; Tony Award®-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Broadway's Fun Home and Thoroughly Modern Millie), who will be working with the cast on vocals; and Grammy®-nominated music supervisor Matt Sullivan (Beauty and the Beast, Chicago), who will serve as executive music producer for the film.