My own stories of ‘West Side Story’—including Rita Moreno and Pitoy Moreno

Credit: 20th Century Studios/YouTube

West Side Story was a groundbreaking musical when it opened on Broadway in 1956. The book, inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, was penned by Arthur Laurents. In place of a romance set amid a deadly clan feud, Laurents used a racial war between two gangs in the ghettos of New York. The choreography by Jerome Robbins presented a brilliant mix of jazz, ballet, and Latin American. The stellar songs by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim hold a prominent place in the great American songbook.

The film version was also groundbreaking. Its producers retained Jerome Robbins as choreographer and co-director along with the esteemed Robert Wise. The screenplay was penned by Ernest Lehman, who had a flair for adapting stage productions to cinematic spectacles (The Sound of Music, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Hello, Dolly!). West Side Story was the top grossing film of 1961 and won several Academy awards, including Best Picture.

My late parents recalled having a less than enjoyable experience when they saw the film in a moviehouse along Rizal Avenue in Manila in the early 1960s. They were seated behind a rowdy group of friends or barkada, who were expecting to see an all-out action movie spiced with bloody brawls. Apparently, they weren’t aware of this movie’s origins. Perhaps it was the warring gangs, the Jets (composed of American thugs) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican thugs), that lured them to see it. The barkada would impatiently complain out loud when the cast would burst into song. (“Kantahan na naman??? Ano ba yan!”). Poor Mom and Dad; their movie date was ruined by Rizal Avenue’s version of the Jets and the Sharks.

They had a better time when they took my siblings and me to see it when it was released again. I have it on DVD now, and I watched it during the first lockdown. For a few moments, my older self couldn’t get over the opening sequence: the camera zooms in on the Jets walking tall and reeking of arrogance. Then suddenly they’re graceful ballet dancers. I laughed and mulled this over. So for a Jet to look tough, he needs to do an arabesque? It worked onstage, but film is a realistic medium. And why was I being so nitpicky now? I must have regressed.

I had to remind myself that this is a musical. So I relaxed, and again I was spellbound. The energetic cast gamely performed Robbins’ revolutionary choreography to Bernstein’s rousing score. Innovative editing also helped make that first sequence as breathtaking as ever. It took the movie musical to a new level. And that was just the start of the movie!

Rita Moreno in Pitoy Moreno in this archive photo of 1962 Oscars

Rita Moreno, who played the fiery Anita, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She was filming a World War II movie (Cry of Battle) in the Philippines when the awards were presented in 1962. The producers of that movie were nice enough to allow her to attend the show in Los Angeles.

Rita Moreno, who played the fiery Anita, was filming a World War II movie in the Philippines when she won the Oscar

In the early 2000s, People magazine published a retrospective on Oscar fashion. Moreno was asked to discuss the dress she wore in the 1962 show. She said she was in Manila and she had to have a gown made quickly. She went to Pitoy Moreno for help (she amusingly clarified they weren’t related). The magazine featured a picture of her in that dress holding her Oscar. She designed it herself, she asserted. Pitoy Moreno made it happen.

Early in my writing career, I got to interview Pitoy Moreno in his home in Malate. I mentioned the People story on Rita Moreno and told him what she had said to the magazine. He raised his eyebrows. His terse response: “Bruha siya.”

Another Filipino figures more prominently in West Side Story. It’s the late Jose de Vega, who played Chino, the Puerto Rican suitor of Maria. De Vega’s father is Filipino, his mom Colombian. This Chino did have a gentler face, as opposed to the hardened faces of his gang mates. He did sound more Pinoy. The giveaway is that scene near the end, when he looks at Maria with contempt and tells her the bad news about her American boyfriend. He exclaims, “He killed… YOUR BRAHDER!”

Was it really necessary to remake West Side Story? Is there any more ground to break with regards to this musical? For Steven Spielberg, the answer is a big YES.

He went on to put that Spielberg brand of magic into what already is a masterpiece. Most American critics lauded his version, and for making it a bit more woke and less stereotyped. They also praised his cast who can all sing, unlike the original whose stars relied on ghost singers. He scored more points when he hired Puerto Ricans to play Puerto Ricans.

The new script by the acclaimed writer Tony Kushner (Angels in America) gives a more detailed background of the protagonists. Leading man Tony (now played by Ansel Elgort) is a former jailbird. He now wants to live a clean life so he stays away from the Jets. His Puerto Rican enemy Bernardo (David Alvarez) is a boxer, which is strange, since we all know he is easily defeated in the climactic rumble.

The cast is indeed a smorgasbord of talent, especially Ariana Debose, who plays Anita. She had big shoes to fill, but they fit her perfectly. None of them, however, makes the role his or her own. The players are hindered by the script and director who have created a cautious and not-too-offensive environment. Apparently, they tried to make a politically correct movie about a racial conflict.

Ariana Debose, who plays Anita, had big shoes to fill, but they fit her perfectly

So what we have is a remake that has less grit, with the Jets and the Sharks looking more like boy bands. Even Officer Krupke (Brian D’Arcy James) and Lt. Shrank (Corey Stoll) seem to have been neutered.

Some of the big production numbers were reworked. This time, the thugs don’t do ballet. The opening sequence has more action and less dancing. As for America, Spielberg went for spectacle and minimized the humor. Bernardo is supposed to mock Anita as she extols the great American way of life. In this version, he plays the straight man to his girlfriend’s diva posturing.

The street scenes are lively and burst with color. The dancing is amazing, if somewhat perfunctory. Spielberg’s camera weaves around the performers, which is an effective way of eliminating the musical’s stage origins. It makes for an exhilarating cinematic experience. But what’s lost in the process is the message of the song and the dance. The dance is meant to express the emotion of the moment. Because of the editing and the choreography, the actors can’t convey anything. They just perform. The energy is there, but the charm or passion is not.

Spielberg also overdoes the camera work when Maria and Tony sing Tonight. With the camera all over the place, viewers lose sight of the couple. The intimacy of the song is discarded. It does camouflage the fact that Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zelgert (as Maria) have zero chemistry. The two do well in their roles; they look beautiful and sing beautifully. Yet they lack the star power to carry the movie. Natalie Wood, criticized for playing ethnic in the original, had it in spades. Yes, her singing was dubbed, but her Maria is still the one to die for.

Rita Moreno is on hand as the owner of the pharmacy where Tony works. She’s given the star treatment, and she even gets to sing Somewhere. She’s looking wonderful at 90, and she’s still a good singer.

Rita Moreno wrote about her Oscar aftermath in her autobiography. The morning after, she returned to Manila to continue filming Cry of Battle. She played a Filipina guerilla. And here she is now ranting about Natalie Wood being cast as a Puerto Rican.

But she said she loved the Philippines (“We know she does!”). She graciously mentioned how our country reminded her of her homeland, Puerto Rico. Hopefully, it wasn’t the Puerto Rico that Anita ridicules: “Always the hurricanes blowing, always the population growing!”

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