West Side Story Movie Star Ariana DeBose on Why Theater Fans Will Fall in Love with the New Film

Ariana DeBose is well known in the Broadway community for her Tony-nominated performance in Summer as well as her standout work in Bring It On, Hamilton, A Bronx Tale and more (not to mention two Broadway.com vlogs). Though we know and love her, DeBose is about to blow up big when she stars as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story film. Broadway.com caught up with the triple-threat at Elsie Fest and asked her what we should expect from the remake of the beloved movie musical.

“I'm just excited for fans to see the whole film because it's deeper than the original,” says DeBose. “It's more intense. In particular, it's the way that we storytell 'America' for you. You get to see the Puerto Rican community, not just the men and the women dancing on a rooftop. You go into the community, which is really exciting.”

DeBose also discussed the heavily rewritten script: “Tony Kushner really embellished and connected so many dots for the audience that allows you to feel the real emotions that these characters are going through in a way that the original film did not, so I'm thrilled.”

What may be most exciting for theater fans are the many Broadway vets in the cast of the new film. “It was a dream to work with Broadway professionals on a movie musical because it's so very rare, as we've seen in the last couple of decades. [In this film] Broadway professionals get to do what we do best on camera.” says DeBose. She continues, “I think what makes this film really special is this entire company was steeped in the legacy that is Broadway. We know the history of the piece. We revere Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein, and we're able to bring their legacy, as we see it, to a new generation.”

Of course, we had to ask about roles she would love to play opposite her West Side Story co-stars Ansel Elgort (Tony) and Rachel Zigler (Maria), and David Alvarez (Bernardo). “I would do Wicked with Rachel. That would be fun,” she says. “I don't know who'd play who. I mean, she'd probably be Elphaba. But she's very funny; she could be a really kick-butt Glinda. I'd like to do Pal Joey with Ansel. Who knows? And David and I, well, we should just make a really good Dirty Dancing musical. Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

West Side Story will premiere in movie theaters on December 18, 2020.