West Side Story

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Spielberg Lends a Helping Hand to West Side Story
What Critics Think of
Spielberg's First Musical
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 10, 2021 11:50 AM CST

What Critics Think of Spielberg's First Musical

'West Side Story' is getting strong reviews

(Newser) - Steven Spielberg's first musical is a biggie: Coming 60 years after the first film version, Spielberg's iteration of the classic musical West Side Story alters a few elements, apparently for the better. Starring Rachel Zegler as Maria, the sister of the leader of Puerto Rican gang the Sharks,...

Kent State Axes West Side Story Over Casting Outrage

Roles portraying Puerto Ricans were given to non-Latino students

(Newser) - The Sharks and the Jets will not be rumbling at Kent State this fall. The university canceled an upcoming production of West Side Story because too many leading roles went to white and non-Latino actors, Fox reports. The decision was made after a campuswide town hall meeting last month that...

Melissa McCarthy Transforms Into Sean Spicer in Promo

To a song from 'West Side Story'

(Newser) - Sean Spicer has said Melissa McCarthy could "dial it back a bit" when she portrays him on Saturday Night Live, but from the latest promo, it doesn't appear the actress will be taking the White House press secretary's suggestion—though she does show a softer, more show-tuney...

West Side Story Playwright Arthur Laurents Dead at 93
 West Side Story 
 Playwright Dead at 93 
OBITUARY
May 6, 2011 2:30 AM CDT

West Side Story Playwright Dead at 93

Arthur Laurents enjoyed success as playwright, director, screenwriter

(Newser) - Arthur Laurents, writer of landmark Broadway musicals including West Side Story and Gypsy, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 93. Laurents' career as a playwright spanned seven decades. He also enjoyed success as a director and as screenwriter of movie classics including Rope and The Way ...

Sondheim: West Side Story Lyrics 'Embarrassing'
Sondheim: West Side Story
Lyrics 'Embarrassing'
INTERVIEW
Dec 29, 2010 10:46 AM CST

Sondheim: West Side Story Lyrics 'Embarrassing'

He should know ... he wrote them

(Newser) - When Stephen Sondheim thinks about the lyrics he wrote for West Side Story—for example, “It’s alarming how charming I feel”—he likes to “put my head under my wing and pretend I’m not there,” he tells Nightline . The universally beloved musical “embarrasses...

New Bilingual West Side Story Tender, Uneven

 New Bilingual 
 West Side Story 
 Tender, Uneven  
Theater review
Mar 20, 2009 11:44 AM CDT

New Bilingual West Side Story Tender, Uneven

Production can be uneven, but still enjoyable

(Newser) - The highly anticipated revival of West Side Story on Broadway opened last night to solid reviews, with critics applauding an unusually tender interpretation in which the women rule. Highlights:
  • “Even when they’re flashing switchblades and kicking people in the ribs, the teenage hoodlums who maraud through Arthur Laurents’
...

25 Memorable Movie Musicals
 25 Memorable Movie Musicals 
Apr 8, 2008 9:52 AM CDT

25 Memorable Movie Musicals

Hits to keep the rain off your parade

(Newser) - With Sweeney Todd now out on DVD, Entertainment Weekly rounds up the mag's 25 favorite movie musicals. Some you've surely seen (West Side Story, Grease, the Sound of Music) but here are 10 you may have missed.
  1. Funny Girl (1968)
  2. Swing Time (1936)

7 Stories