Two rival teenage gangs, the Jets ( White Americans ) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans), struggle for control of their neighborhood on the Upper West Side of New York City (Prologue).
Are the Jets in West Side Story Polish?
On the west side of New York City, the Jets and the Sharks are Polish and Puerto Rican gangs respectively who hate each other and who battle each other for territory in their neighborhood. ... The sharks and the jets are rival gangs fighting for the same territory.
What ethnicity are Maria and Anita in West Side Story?
Anita (Rita Moreno), is a Puerto Rican immigrant . She is the girlfriend of Bernardo and a close friend and confidante to his sister Maria. Anita's character is based loosely on Juliet's Nurse in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.
Did Tony and Maria sleep together?
Even though Maria and Tony sleep together , their relationship is constantly surrounded by dreamy words of love, commitment and wedding imagery. While Anita sings about sex in “Tonight,” Maria croons about seeing her love and how the “stars will stop where they are”.
Is Maria in West Side Story Hispanic?
In West Side Story, Maria is of Puerto Rican descent . In the 1961 film adaptation she was played by American actor Natalie Wood. Spielberg told Variety: “When we began this process a year ago, we announced that we would cast the roles of Maria, Anita, Bernardo, Chino and the Sharks with Latina and Latino actors.”
Why didnt Rita Moreno play Maria?
In a virtual reunion with former co-stars George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn, shared on HBO Max Thursday, Moreno revealed she was invited to audition for Maria in the original Broadway production, but turned it down due to nerves . “I got cold feet,” she said. “I got scared.”
Who killed Tony in West Side Story?
Tony – Shot by Chino as revenge for Bernardo's death. Chino was later arrested by Officer Krupke.
Does Anita get assaulted in West Side Story?
If all this isn't enough, West Side Story includes a scene of a rape attempt. ... In this adaptation, he chose to stage Anita's rape explicitly onstage with a camera zoomed in on the face of Yesenia Ayala, who plays Anita, as her reaction is projected.
Does Maria get married in West Side Story?
Next day, Tony visits Maria at the shop and among the clothing dummies they enact a touching wedding ceremony (One Hand, One Heart). Maria makes him promise to stop the fight between his gang and her brother's.
Who falls in love with Maria in West Side Story?
MARIA-‐ A hopeless romantic and innocent young girl. She falls in love with Tony and finds herself at the center of the violent conflict between the two gangs.
How old are Tony and Maria in West Side Story?
According to IMDb, “both Natalie Wood, (who played Maria,) and Richard Beymer, (who played Tony,) were 23 at the time of the filming.” Because this musical is based on Romeo and Juliet, and Juliet is around 14-years-old in the original play, some suspect the West Side Story characters would, presumably, be teenagers, ...
Is Rita Moreno Puerto Rican?
Rita Moreno was born on December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico . Given the nickname “Rosita,” when she was young, Moreno's birth name was Rosa Dolores Alverío. ... Mayer's MGM Studios where she adopted the stage name Rita Moreno.
Is Tony in West Side Story white?
The character that eventually became Tony – the Polish-Irish Catholic boy in West Side Story – was an Irish Catholic . But that was 1947, and Abie's Irish Rose, a popular film about a marriage between an Irish Catholic and a Jew with conflicting families, had come out a year earlier.
Is George Chakiris white?
Early life. Chakiris was born in Norwood, Ohio to Steven and Zoe (née Anastasiadou) Chakiris, immigrants from Greece. He attended high school in Tucson, Arizona and Long Beach, California.
Who is Rita Moreno's daughter?
LOS ANGELES — Amid a parade of celebrities in designer gowns were “two happy women getting out of quarantine” and having the most fun — show business legend Rita Moreno and daughter Fernanda Luisa Gordon .
