FILM ALSO ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR THE SHARKS & THE JETS, WITH OVER 50 NEW CAST MEMBERS IN FEATURE DEBUTS
Los Angeles, Calif. (April 16, 2019) – Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story rounded out its casting today, with more than 50 actors, singers and dancers joining the film as the ensemble cast of Sharks and Jets, the rival street gangs at the center of the musical’s timeless love story.
The role of Riff – the leader of the Jets – will be played by actor Mike Faist, who is best known for originating roles in the Broadway productions of Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies. Puerto Rican singer, actress and dancer Ana Isabelle will play Rosalia, who works with Maria.
After an extensive search that included open casting calls in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and San Juan, West Side Story has assembled a cast that brings a wide range of musical theater experience to the production, including many Broadway and national tour credits.
Casting Director Cindy Tolan looked at more than 30,000 performers, making this Spielberg’s broadest casting search since Schindler’s List (1993). For over 50 new cast members, West Side Story will mark their feature film debuts.
The Sharks and Jets appear in several of West Side Story’s most iconic song and dance scenes, including “Cool,” “America,” “Gee, Officer Krupke,” “Jet Song” and “I Feel Pretty.” It was previously announced that Justin Peck will choreograph the numbers in the film.
“One of our largest priorities was to find a caliber of triple-threats who could bring this film to life with great proficiency,” said Peck. “West Side Story has influenced generations of dancers since its inception, and I am thrilled that we have found this extraordinary group to bring our new vision for the musical to the big screen.”
The performers joining the cast of West Side Story include:
SHARKS
David Aviles Morales
Yesenia Ayala
María Alejandra Castillo
Annelise Cepero
Andrei Chagas
Jeanette Delgado
Kelvin Delgado
Gaby Diaz
Yurel Echezarreta
Adriel Flete
Carlos E. Gonzalez
David Guzman
Jacob Guzman
Ana Isabelle
Melody Martí
Ilda Mason
Juliette Feliciano Ortiz
Edriz E. Rosa Pérez
Maria Alexis Rodriguez
Julius Anthony Rubio
Carlos Sánchez Falú
Sebastian Serra
Gabriela Soto
Ricky Ubeda
Tanairi Vazquez
Jamila Velazquez
Isabella Ward
Ricardo Zayas
JETS
Brianna Abruzzo
Kyle Allen
Kyle Coffman
Ben Cook
Harrison Coll
Kevin Csolak
Kellie Drobnick
Julian Elia
Myles Erlick
Leigh-Ann Esty
Sara Esty
Mike Faist
John Michael Fiumara
Paloma Garcia-Lee
Garett Hawe
Patrick Higgins
Sean Harrison Jones
Eloise Kropp
Lauren Leach
Jess LeProtto
Skye Mattox
Ezra Menas
Adriana Pierce
Brittany Pollack
Daniel Patrick Russell
Talia Ryder
Jonalyn Saxer
Halli Toland
Maddie Ziegler
These actors, singers and dancers will join previously announced cast members Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Brian d’Arcy James (Sergeant Krupke).
West Side Story will be produced and directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The film will be adapted for the screen from the original 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. Also leading the production are Tony Award-winning producer Kevin McCollum and Academy Award-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger. In addition to her work in front of the camera, Rita Moreno will serve as one of the film’s executive producers.
Filming is slated to start in the summer of 2019 for a December 18, 2020 release in theaters.
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