“Rita is not only one of our great actors, she’s an artist of enormous depth and power—a power that transcends filmmaking into what has been a lifetime of fighting for social change,” Spielberg tells Parade. “While many of our filmmakers speak from learned experiences as it relates to West Side Story, she speaks from a lived experience, which is why I immediately asked her to serve not only as a member of the cast but also as an executive producer.” Moreno’s fans have loved her for a long time. The star had already achieved coveted EGOT status by 1977, all for performing. That means that besides the Oscar for West Side Story, she has won an Emmy (two in fact; one for The Muppet Show in 1977 and another for The Rockford Files in 1978), a Tony (for The Ritz in 1975) and a Grammy for Best Recording for Children for The Electric Company (1972). She also was a fan favorite on the Latinx One Day at a Time. Parade caught up with Moreno, who was speaking from her Berkeley, California, home. How did the character of Valentina come about? When TonyKushner, who wrote Angels in America, was reading over the old script before writing the new one, his partner said, “What are you gonna do about Doc?” He was the man who ran the candy store where the Jets hung out. Doc is gone now and Valentina is his widow. What did you love about playing Valentina? No. 1, it’s a beautiful name. No. 2, she has a close relationship with Tony, the lead. It’s very, very different than the relationship that Doc had with the kids. And there is one major surprise with Valentina that of course I’m not going to divulge, but it’s a doozy. Valentina is a wonderful character, she’s loving, she’s warm. She’s nothing like Anita at all. She is definitely an older woman. And it’s been the joy of my life to play her. I could not believe it when Steven called me, and then I talked to Tony Kushner. Apparently, Tony was a big fan of the [original] movie and suggested me to Steven. What happened when Steven Spielberg offered you the part? I remember saying to Steven, “Look, if you’re offering a cameo, I have to say no, right off the bat.” Playing a cameo when you’ve been a lead is just a distraction. All you’re doing is distracting people. Oh, look who’s there? He said, “No, no, no, no, no, no, it’s not a cameo. It’s a real part.” I said, “OK, then I would like to read the script.” And that’s how it happened. But I can tell you, going back to the past in the present—it’s incredible. Did you form a relationship with the other actors? All the kids, because they were so young, kept asking me all kinds of questions. So it just turned out that every time I was in for shooting some scenes, at lunchtime they’d all gather around me and ask questions. It was very sweet. Did you offer any advice to Ariana DeBose, who plays Anita? Oh, absolutely. I did, only when she asked for it. She was extremely nervous around me. And I took her to lunch, and we talked, and eventually she got comfortable with me because we had a very important scene together in the middle of the movie. The two Anitas. It was weird and strange and wonderful. And she’s marvelous. She’s a ferocious dancer. Way better than I was. And the boy who plays Bernardo [DavidAlvarez] is absolutely fabulous. Theymight have been too young to see you in Singin’ in the Rain or The King and I, but did they remember you from The Electric Company? Exactly right! They all knew me from The Electric Company. What struck you the most about the difference between making a movie today and making one in the early ’60s? It’s really very different. Steven uses cranes like other people just use cameras. He’s got big cranes, little cranes, medium cranes. The cranes that hold cameras. And he’s swooping all over the place. God, he’s so—he takes your breath away. And on top of that, he’s so sweet. He’s like a kid. He’d be running on the side with a little viewfinder. And he’d say, “Rita, come over here. Look at this, look at this setup.” And I’d look through the viewfinder and say, “Oh, my God, that’s great.” But I mean, he’s like a little boy. He is energetic beyond belief. And he makes jokes and he’s accessible. And the kids just adored him as I do. What were the sets like? They are unreal. We shot all the outside stuff in Paterson, New Jersey, and they built an entire ghetto outside. It’s a period movie set in 1957 when Lincoln Center didn’t even exist yet; the neighborhood actually was a ghetto. So the sets had rubble, a bunch of bathtubs; one slice of a building shows where a wall had been knocked down. So you see pieces of bedrooms and kitchens and bathrooms and living rooms some with furniture still in them. It’s just—it’s so staggering. Anything else different? It’s the same time period and the same characters and the same story. The only different character is me. But it’s rewritten in some ways, wonderfully improved. And very sensitive to the whole business of color. In the original, I was so exasperated because the makeup was so dark, and sometimes it would streak because of the fairer skin underneath it. And I remember saying to the makeup man, “I hate this makeup. Why can’t I be my color?” And he literally looked at me and said, “What, are you racist?” I was so amazed by what he said that I was actually speechless. How do you respond to that? In this movie, if you are dark, that’s the makeup you get. If you’re fair, like I am, then that’s the makeup you get. I’ll tell you something else extremely important. Every Latino in this movie is Latino. All the boys in the sharks are Hispanic. Not everyone’s Puerto Rican, but they all are Hispanic. And that makes me happy. They went to so much trouble. Steven saw 30,000 tests—30,000! He found his Maria [RachelZegler] on YouTube. She’s really young. She turned 18 during the filming of the movie. What kind of impact did West Side Story have on your life in 1961? It changed my life. It made me known the world over. But what’s interesting is that I couldn’t get a job for months after that, because I had played the definitive Hispanic woman. And I kept getting offered minor roles of Hispanic characters. After winning an Oscar and the Golden Globe, I said, “I’m not going to accept any more of those. Not anymore. This is it. That day is over.” And, ha ha, I showed them. I didn’t work for years in movies. It was absolutely heartbreaking. But you have definitely pushed through. Oh, my goodness, I’m like the little train that could. Were you aware that you were making a magical movie that would win a whopping 10 Oscars, including yours for Best Supporting Actress? I was convinced that nobody was going to see the movie. One day I said to George [Chakiris, who played Bernardo], “You know, George, nobody will see this movie.” And he turned to me, and he said, “What do you mean?” I said, “We don’t have fancy costumes with sequins and stuff on them. They don’t glitter. If anything, they’re really odd colors.” And I said, “People are singing in operatic voices: ‘Tonight, tonight.’” I said, “Who wants to see that? I think it’s brilliant. But I honestly don’t believe that people will pay $5 to see this movie. That’s how I feel.” And poor George went back to his dressing room very sad [laughs]. You crushed his spirits. Yes [laughs]. But I’m sure there was a moment when George was like, “Um, people saw it.” Yes, we all said, “Wow!” What about that original movie and its theme are so timely and relevant in today’s world? Well, it’s more relevant than ever. And one of the wonderful things that Tony Kushner inserted into this play—because, you know, Tony is a very, very political person—there are a couple of plaques on some of the building surfaces that say something like “By the order of New York City State Commission something, this area is going to be torn down.” Which is incredible. He put that in. And also terrifying, though, at the same time that the conversation is more relevant than ever. It’s not only terrifying, it’s depressing. My God, you say, “Oh no. Again and again?” What did you think of the new choreography? It is simply brilliant. JustinPeck is the choreographer for the New York City Ballet. He’s fabulous. My daughter was with me because I didn’t want her to miss out on this. She was on the set every single day. And she loved every single moment. She’s a dancer too. So she just was flipping her lid over the choreography. And, oh, they did “America” in a marvelous way, different from the original, which is a good thing. Steven said, “No, we’re not gonna do it the way they did. It’s too iconic.” So they did it a different way. And it is absolutely marvelous. What are some of your fondest memories of making the original movie and working with Natalie Wood, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris and Richard Beymer? Well, George to this day is one of my very dear friends. I made him my daughter Fernanda’s godfather. I have a little snapshot of him holding a little baby girl. George was a big, big, big part of it. We became extremely close. He and I and a girl named YvonneWilder. Yvonne was one of the Shark girls and was hysterical. So the three of us became the Puerto Rican mafia. Even though George was Greek. We laughed so hard. We had such a good time. During your career as a dancer, a Broadway actress and a TV and film star, you’ve received different medals and honors and awards. Did Spielberg or any of the other cast of the new movie recognize you for all of your achievements? Are you kidding? Of course. Of course. I had him and the other producers over for dinner. I live in Berkeley, and they live in L.A., but he flew in his own plane. And I said, I want to make a Puerto Rican dinner for you all. And Tony Kushner and Steven, all those people. There were about eight of us. And the first thing he wanted to see when he got into my house was my Oscar. Isn’t it sweet? So on my first day on the set, he said, “Do you mind if I introduce you to the crew and the cast?” And I already knew the cast. And I said, “Well, that’s lovely, thank you.” And he did that. They all applauded and whistled and that was quite marvelous. How did it feel to watch yourself as Anita, and when you opened your mouth to sing Betty Wand came out? Yes. Well, it had to happen. I sang “America.” What I didn’t sing was “A Boy Like That.” That’s what I didn’t sing. I sang everything else. But that song has an enormous range. You know what I mean by that? It goes very, very low. “A boy that.” And before you know, you’re singing, “very smart, Maria, very smart.” And I did not have a low range for it. Boy, I tried. I desperately wanted to be able to do it myself. But I just couldn’t. I could not do it. I could do the high part. Couldn’t do the low part. So they had to dub me. And it’s always been the sadness of my life that I couldn’t sing that. I had a high singing voice, but I had no low notes. I really had no low notes.
1961 West Side Story Trivia
September 26, 1957, was the Broadway premiere date of West Side Story at the Winter Garden Theatre.It was originally about a Catholic boy and a Jewish girl and was called East Side Story.AudreyHepburn was offered the film role of Maria but turned it down.Natalie Wood (Maria in the movie) couldn’t snap her fingers, so the sound was dubbed.200 pairs of shoes were worn throughout production.100 pounds of makeup was used.27 pairs of pants were split while dancing.The film soundtrack spent 54 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart.Movie product placements included Bromo Seltzer, Coca-Cola and Tootsie Roll.
2021 West Side Story Trivia
30,000 video auditions were submitted from around the world for the movie’s open call.More than 50 cast members marked their feature film debut in West Side Story.The cast rehearsed for 540 hours prior to shooting.11 dance numbers are performed onscreen.Filming took 76 days on set.15,000 jobs were created in New York and New Jersey for the production.There were 37 filming locations in New York City and New Jersey (and hundreds of real apartments pictured in the background of shots).It has been 64 years since first performance of West Side Story on BroadwayChitaRivera (Anita in the play) and three actors from the 1961 movie (Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn and EliotField) visited the set, and 1961 Jets BertMichaels and DavidBean appear in the 2021 film in new roles.
Next, West Side Story’s Rita Moreno Is 1 of 16 EGOT Winners—Find Out Who Else Is in the Prestigious Club!
