Ansel Elgort to Play Tony in ‘West Side Story’ Remake
Something’s coming, something good, we know what it is and it’s gonna be great!
Stephen Spielberg is directing a remake of West Side Story and Ansel Elgort(Baby Driver, The Fault in Our Stars) is playing ex-Jet, Tony.
The original West Side Story film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which was inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. It’s the story of two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets and what happens when Tony, an ex-Jet falls in love with Maria, the little sister to the Shark leader, Bernardo.
When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dyin’ day.
Elgort, who is no stranger to the stage, (Off-Broadway’s Regrets) has performed West Side Story before. At just 13 years-old, Elgort played hot-tempered Jet named Action in 2007 for the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center.
Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner will adapt the original script of Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Berstein. Carousel Tony winner Justin Peck will choreograph the film.
Filming of the remake, produced by Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Broadway’s Kevin McCollum (In the Heights, Avenue Q, Rent), is scheduled to start in the summer of 2019.
sources: Playbill, Broadway.com
When Beth “grows up” she wants to see her creations appear on the screen and stage. In her free time, Beth blogs about her love of craft beer and writes screenplays. She received her bachelors in journalism from Youngstown State and received her masters in communication from The University of Akron. She is honored to be a part of the FanFest family.
