Following an extensive casting search which looked at more than 30,000 performers, further casting has today been announced for Steven Spielberg’s new big-screen adaptation of the musical classic, West Side Story, which is scheduled to begin filming this summer.
Joining the previously announced Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Brian d’Arcy James (Sergeant Krupke) will be Tony Award-nominee Mike Faist (Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies) as Riff, and Ana Isabelle as Rosalia.
They will also be joined by David Aviles Morales, Yesenia Ayala, María Alejandra Castillo, Annelise Cepero, Andrei Chagas, Jeanette Delgado, Kelvin Delgado, Gaby Diaz, Yurel Echezarreta, Adriel Flete, Carlos E. Gonzalez, David Guzman, Jacob Guzman, Ana Isabelle, Melody Martí, Ilda Mason, Juliette Feliciano Ortiz, Edriz E. Rosa Pérez, Maria Alexis Rodriguez, Julius Anthony Rubio, Carlos Sánchez Falú, Sebastian Serra, Gabriela Soto, Ricky Ubeda, Tanairi Vazquez, Jamila Velazquez, Isabella Ward, and Ricardo Zayas as the Sharks, and Brianna Abruzzo, Kyle Allen, Kyle Coffman, Ben Cook, Harrison Coll, Kevin Csolak, Kellie Drobnick, Julian Elia, Myles Erlick, Leigh-Ann Esty, Sara Esty, John Michael Fiumara, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Garett Hawe, Patrick Higgins, Sean Harrison Jones, Eloise Kropp, Lauren Leach, Jess LeProtto, Skye Mattox, Ezra Menas, Adriana Pierce, Brittany Pollack, Daniel Patrick Russell, Talia Ryder, Jonalyn Saxer, Halli Toland, and Maddie Ziegler as the Jets.
Spielberg has assembled a cast that brings a wide range of musical theatre experience to the production, with many of the 50-strong ensemble having numerous Broadway and national tour credits to their names.
Spielberg directs from a script by Oscar®-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. West Side Story is adapted for the screen from the original 1957 Broadway musical, written by Arthur Laurents, with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins.
