West Side Story is a work with some huge names behind it: Leonard Bernstein wrote the musical, Stephen Sondheim the lyrics, and Shakespeare the source material Romeo and Juliet. And sixty years after the classic 1961 film dominated the Oscars, another name was added to that list: Steven Spielberg.
The big names behind West Side Story don’t just have status in common though; they’re also all white men telling a story of Puerto Rican migrants in New York City. That lack of diversity among the creative team is evident watching the original film sixty years later. The Puerto Rican characters are portrayed by white actors, often in broad stereotype and brownface. Even Rita Moreno, who portrayed Anita and was born in Puerto Rico, was forced to wear dark makeup.
The 2021 update escapes many of the dated and problematic aspects of the 1961 version by grounding the story in real history. Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner used the period setting of slum-clearance era New York to give the rival gang members more real-world motivation and less stereotyping. In doing so though, the remake may lose some of the kaleidoscopic dreaminess that made the old Hollywood original the classic that it is.
David Sims, Sophie Gilbert, and Spencer Kornhaber compare the two versions ahead of an Oscars weekend in which West Side Story is up for seven awards.
Further reading:
Spielberg's West Side Story Is an Undeniable Triumph
How Stephen Sondheim Changed Musical Theater
When a Hit Musical Becomes a Bad Movie
Why West Side Story Abandoned Its Queer Narrative
What Stephen Sondheim Knew About Endings
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