Ariana DeBose seen for the first time as Anita while on the set of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story… as Spike Lee pays visit to set
- North Carolina actress Ariana plays the role of Anita in the adaptation of the 1961 classic
- It’s a role originally portrayed by Rita Moreno that earned her the Best Actress in a Supporting Role the following year
- Moreno is both an executive producer on the Spielberg film and in the cast, portraying the role of Valentina
- The original 1957 Broadway musical is about the love and tension between the Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang, in New York in the ’50s
- The 1961 film adaptation starring Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood as Tony and Maria scored 10 Oscars after it’s release, including Best Picture in 1962
- The cast also includes Rachel Zegler as Maria, Ansel Elgort playing the role of Tony, Maddie Ziegler playing Velma, David Alvarez playing Anita’s boyfriend Bernardo and Brian d’Arcy James as Officer Krupke
- Steven Spielberg’s highly-anticipated adaption of the classic Broadway musical is slated to hit cinemas on December 18, 2020
Ariana DeBose looked amazing as she was snapped filming Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story in New York City Sunday, as Spielberg was joined on the set by a fellow Oscar-winning filmmaker in Spike Lee.
The 28-year-old looked every inch her character Anita as she donned a vibrant yellow halterneck dress with ruffles detailed sleeves.
Dressed for the part, the North Carolina native wore her locks in a sleek bob as she shot a high-octane scene on a stoop flanked by two of her co-stars on the set of the period piece.
A star is born: Ariana DeBose, 28, looked amazing as she was snapped filming Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story in New York City Sunday
Ariana is a one-time So You Think You Can Dance contestant who went on to perform in musicals such as Hamilton, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, A Bronx Tale The Musical and Motown the Musical.
In West Side Story, Ariana plays the role of Anita in the adaptation of the 1961 classic, a role originally portrayed by Rita Moreno that earned her the Best Actress in a Supporting Role the following year.
Her co-stars followed the colourful theme as one slipped into a belted blue and red print a-line dress while the other worked a charming floral patterned midi.
The trio were later joined in the scene by Julius Anthony Rubio, who plays Quique, at the bottom of the steps in a maroon and yellow T-shirt and dark wash denims.
Smoking on a cigarette during the dance number, he draped a pair of boxing gloves over his shoulder and carried a blue leather bowling bag as he stood alongside David Alvarez, who plays Anita’s boyfriend Bernardo.
The 25-year-old soaked up the sun in between scenes in his black vest top and beige trousers, which he accessorised with a silver cross chain.
Empire state of mind: Spike Lee, 62, wore his trademark New York Yankees cap with a white polo shirt bearing the iconic baseball logo and shimmery light athletic pants
Take five: The two filmmakers chatted as Steven took a break while the next shot was being set up
Master of his craft: The veteran filmmaker looked relaxed as he caught up with other members of the crew
Yellow there: The 28-year-old looked every inch her character Anita as she donned a vibrant yellow halterneck dress with ruffles detailed sleeves
In character: The cast seen filming in the Harlem neighborhood
Watching from the sidelines was director Spike Lee, 62, wore his trademark New York Yankees cap with a white polo shirt bearing the baseball team’s iconic logo and shimmery light athletic pants.
The BlacKkKlansman film maker smiled as he surveyed the Gotham set of the motion picture before catching up with his pal and West Side Story director Steven Spielberg.
Film veteran Steven donned a Hawaiian shirt over a white long-sleeved top with a pair of jeans as he chatted to his pal while the crew set up the next shot.
He was first pictured on Saturday shooting the second film of the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story.
The show was first adapted into a 1961 movie that became a massive box office smash and won 10 Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Picture.
In on-set snaps from the new version, Mike Faist as Riff was seen leading his New York street gang in their introductory number The Jet Song.
Big shoes to fill: Rita Moreno has become one of the industry’s most respected and revered stars since her 1961 big screen portrayal of Anita (left) and her successor, Ariana (right)
Action: Dressed for the part, the North Carolina native wore her locks in a sleek bob as she shot a high-octane scene on a stoop flanked by two of her co-stars on the set of the period piece
Fame game: Ariana is a one-time So You Think You Can Dance contestant who went on to perform in musicals such as Hamilton, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, A Bronx Tale The Musical and Motown the Musical
Beaming: The trio were later joined in the scene by Julius Anthony Rubio (centre), who plays Quique, and David Alvarez (left), who plays Anita’s boyfriend Bernardo
He’s got moves: The role of Bernado was originally played by George Chakiris in the 1961 version (left) and up-and-coming star David (right) is set to make the role his own
Cool: Actor Julius donned a maroon and yellow T-shirt as he draped a pair of boxing gloves over his shoulder and carried a blue leather bowling bag
The story was adapted from Romeo And Juliet by Arthur Laurents and features the lyrics by legendary composer Stephen Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein.
In place of the Capulet and Montague families, the plot concerns a conflict between rival gangs, the Puerto Rican Sharks and the white Jets. The Romeo character Tony is a member of the Jets, while his Juliet, Maria, is the younger sister of the head of the Sharks.
Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler have been cast respectively as Tony and Maria in a cast that includes Broadway veteran Ariana DeBose as the leading lady’s pal Anita.
Mike is also a Great White Way fixture who earned a Tony nomination for his supporting role in the 2016 musical Dear Evan Hansen.
Rita Moreno, who won an Academy Award as Anita in the original 1961 film of West Side Story, has been brought back in a different part for the Spielberg version.
Daring: Actor John Michael Fiumara, who plays one of The Jets, did his own stunts during filming Sunday
Filming fiends: Mike Faist, pictured in a white oil-slicked vest, plays Riff and pictured shooting on Sunday also
Changing times: Russ Tamblyn’s portrayal of Riff (left) in the original movie while Mike (right) is no doubt hoping to make the role his own
In character: The Tony-nominated actor plays the leader of the ‘Jets’ gang
Walk this way: The Dear Evan Hansen star carried paint tins in his hands while flanked by other members of The Jets gang
They’ve still got it: The original Jets were led by Tamblyn’s Riff (wearing the yellow jacket in the left-hand picture), while the new Jets will be led by the same character, this time portrayed by Faist (wearing the white vest in the right-hand picture)
Gather round: Director Steven wore a Hawaiian shirt as he gave direction to actors and crew
Master of the medium: Spielberg in recent years has directed films such as 2018’s Ready Player One and 2017’s The Post
New stars: Twentieth Century Fox unveiled a photo of the cast of the new West Side Story adaptation last month
Then and now: The 1961 film adaptation starred Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood as Tony and Maria (left). Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler, who is making her big-screen debut in West Side Story, play the star-crossed lovers in the reboot (right)
Story: The original 1957 Broadway musical and 1961 film are both about the love and tension between the Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang, in New York in the ’50s
Her new character Valentina is a revamped version of the character Doc from the stage and original screen version, Deadline reported last year.
In the stage version and the 1961 film, Tony works at a drugstore owned by Doc – whose role has been enlarged for that of Valentina.
The famously talented and difficult Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed the original Broadway production, which opened to decent success in the 1950s.
The 1961 movie was co-directed by Robert Wise and Jerome, the latter of whom was brought in to helm the musical numbers but fired during production.
The stage run of West Side Story did fairly well commercially, but it was the movie’s success that gave the material its current cachet.
Natalie Wood played Maria, with Marni Nixon dubbing the singing, while Richard Beymer played Tony, with Jimmy Bryant singing the part.
Extra, extra! Extras lined the streets in their 1950s garb ready for Steven to shout action
Scenes: The crew transformed the Harlem neighbourhood from 2019 to 1950 as a fabric shop popped up on the street
Read all about it: Another retro-looking newspaper stand popped up on the pavement and boasted snacks from yester-year
Corner: A ‘groceria’ appeared on the corner and featured vintage-looking bikes outside the front
Dialing it in: A 1950s phonebox was placed in the middle of the pavement while they created a dentist’s surgery under one of the stairs
Take a break: Background artists took a break from the sun in their retro costumes
Breaking down: One extra lifted up the hood of a two-toned car while another relaxed in the passenger seat
Spielberg is producing and directing the upcoming remake of the musical and 1961 film adaptation co-directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise.
The new script was written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Tony award-winning choreographer Justin Peck.
In the original flick, most of the Puerto Rican characters were played by white actors and wore brownface, leading to a number of whitewashing controversies in various productions of the musical in the decades to follow.
Spielberg, however, was committed to hiring actors from the Latinx community, and a casting call for the film specified that the characters who are a part of the Sharks are Latinx.
West Side Story is slated to arrive in theaters December 18, 2020.
Hey there! Actress Laura Dern also paid a visit to the set of the highly-anticipated movie
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