The new look at Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story is here!
On Wednesday, Good Morning America exclusively debuted the official trailer of the adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. The film hits theaters Friday, December 10.
Starring in Spielberg’s movie musical are newcomer Rachel Zegler, Golden Globe nominee Ansel Elgort and the iconic Rita Moreno, among others. Moreno previously starred in, and won an Oscar for, the 1961 version of West Side Story, alongside Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer.
In the trailer, we hear Zegler, who was found via a casting call posted on Twitter and is making her professional film debut, sing for the very first time. She performs “Tonight,” one of the musical’s big numbers, as we’re introduced to the world of West Side Story. Set in New York City during the ’50s, it tells a tale of two star-crossed lovers — think Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which inspired the musical. Elgort’s Tony is a former member of the Jets, a white gang, who falls in love with Zegler’s Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang.
The 1961 version, which won 10 Academy Awards, including best picture, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
Speaking to Vanity Fair last March, Spielberg said the story “is not only a product of its time, but that time has returned, and it’s returned with a kind of social fury.”
“I really wanted to tell that Puerto Rican, Nuyorican experience of basically the migration to this country and the struggle to make a living, and to have children, and to battle against the obstacles of xenophobia and racial prejudice,” he added.
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