Steven Spielberg has gathered many of the people he needs for the gangs and various Latino characters in his new version of West Side Story, but what of the cops? Now we know that Corey Stoll and Brian d'Arcy James have scored those roles.
Inspired by Romeo And Juliet, West Side Story re-sets the feuding families as warring New York City gangs – the white Jets led by Riff and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riff's best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardo's younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love. Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Ansel Elgort is on as Tony, while Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for the 1961 original, will be Valentina, a re-conceived and expanded version of original corner store owner Doc, who employs Tony in a local store.
Stoll is on to be Lieutenant Schrank, the New York City detective charged with quelling civic unrest in his racially-torn precinct, and James will play the iconic role of Sergeant Krupke, the vet cop whose beat included the territories of the two warring street gangs.
Spielberg is working from Tony Kushner's adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical, which was written by Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. The cast also includes Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose and Josh Andrés Rivera. The production will kick off this summer, with Fox – in whatever form it takes following its merger with Disney – providing the backing.
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