Why I’m a West Side Story fanatic

The show was my coming of age — Spielberg had better nail it, says Sabrina Russello

THE sound of a whistle, that’s all it took to put a stupid smile on my face. “Nothing’s even happened yet,” my baffled friend said as we watched the teaser trailer for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. But I knew what was coming.

On December 10 the world will rediscover — or be introduced to — what I believe is one of the greatest musicals of all time.

When I first heard that a remake of West Side Story was in the works, I panicked. They’re going to ruin it, I thought. Why? It goes without saying that some productions should go untouched. West Side Story is one of them. Others, in my opinion, include Titanic, Grease, The Wizard of Oz.

I felt protective over the musical-turned-Oscar-winning film. It’s a classic and it means a lot to me.

I can pinpoint the moment West Side Story fastened itself into my heart. I was 16 and had just been cast in a local production as one of the Puerto Rican girls — an appropriate fit for someone with dark hair, dark eyes and an ability to give sass. Before,

I’d only had minor roles.

But West

Side Story would become my life, my coming of age story as I transformed from stranger to lover of Leonard Bernstein’s creation.

The musical, originally written by Arthur Laurents, takes the trope of Romeo and Juliet and drops it in Fifties New York City. Rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, are vying for the same turf while two of their own, Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood), fall head over heels for one another after a long gaze across a gymnasium floor at a school dance.

My introduction to the show was the music. Very few do it better than Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Even those who’ve never seen the musical can recite lyrics from at least one song, most likely I Feel Pretty. I, on the other hand, could sing the musical from front to back, any of the parts. One reminder of it and my day turns into a one-woman show of the soundtrack. Apologies to my colleagues, my flatmate and any innocent Tube bystanders caught in my musical crossfire. My fondest memory of being in the show is performing its best and most exciting ensemble number, America. The nearly five-minute song, led by Shark girl Anita (played in the original film adaptation by Rita Moreno, who reappears in Spielberg’s version as Valentina, an expansion of Doc, the proprietor of the store in which Ansel Elgort’s Tony works), is filled with cheeky lines and high energy. There were only six of us in our performance, so everything we did had to be over the top. Big steps, the highest high kicks, spins that floated across the stage. I can feel my heart beat faster even now as I think about it.

The girls and I formed unbreakable bonds, spending most of our waking hours together. And it showed when we performed. It was one big party every night and the most fun I’ve had on stage.

At its core, West Side Story is about friendship, young love and wanting to belong. I could relate to that. I think most people can. When I watch the film, I can’t help but reflect on those moments on stage as a young woman finding herself through the trials and tribulations of teenage drama, soundtracked by Bernstein, and feeling hopeful for her place in the future. Perhaps the new adaptation will be this generation’s coming-of-age story. Spielberg hasn’t directed in a few years and I find comfort in that. I assume he didn’t make the decision to return to the helm lightly. But it is his first musical. In a behind-the-scenes clip, he said he first listened to the soundtrack when he was just 10 years old. He made a promise then to make the musical into a film one day. In September, I got my first glimpse of his movie. The 2021 teaser trailer is a carbon copy of the original. The cinematography is stunning. There are no lines, just Somewhere playing in the background, creating excitement and heartbreak simultaneously, just as it does in the 1961 classic. From what I can tell, Spielberg’s version is going to be a beautiful homage to the original. Sometimes I wonder if West Side Story is actually that great (though 10 Oscar wins would argue it absolutely is) or if I just feel sentimental about it. But maybe that’s the point. It’s a story that makes you feel something. It’s familiar and nostalgic. And its messages, good and bad, are as relevant now as they were then.

Is it perfect? No. I could do without the song Something’s Coming — a snooze fest even if it is foreshadowing — and there’s one scene I’d scrap altogether. But flaws and all, it wouldn’t be what it is without those — a damn good musical that has withstood the test of time. Te adoro, West Side Story. • West Side Story is released on December 10

The show became my life as I transformed from stranger to lover of Leonard Bernstein’s creation