With production onSteven Spielberg’s first ever fully fledged musical—a remake ofWest Side Story—set to get underway this summer, the iconic filmmaker is casting up.Ansel Elgortwas the first set in the lead role of Tony, whileRachel Zeglersubsequently landed the role of Maria. Now Deadline reports thatHouse of CardsandThe StrainveteranCorey Stollwill be playing Lieutenant Schrank, whileSpotlightactor and Broadway veteranBrian D’ArcyJameswill fill the role of Officer Krupke.
This is excellent casting. Schrank and Krupke are the law enforcement officials always trying to break up the fighting between the film’s two rival gangs, the white American gang the Jets and the Puerto Rican gang the Sharks. All signs point to Spielberg maintaining the 1950s setting and racial politics of the original story and thusRobert Wise’s Oscar-winning 1961 film, but surely with someone likeTony Kushner(Lincoln) writing the screenplay, there will be strong parallels to the world we live in today.
Spielberg has filled out the Sharks side of the cast with actors of Puerto Rican and Latino descent, includingRita Moreno—who won an Oscar for playing Anita in the original film—as Valentina, a new version of the shop owner Doc from the original movie.
Spielberg has long made his desire to make a musical known, and indeed he flirted with the subject in the opening sequence forIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I’m extremely curious to see how he fares, and also eager to see what his longtime cinematographerJanusz Kaminskicomes up with for the film’s aesthetic.
West Side Storydoesn’t yet have a release date but is expected to hit theaters sometime next year. 20th Century Fox is producing the film and production is due to begin this summer.
