Shark Actors Kevin Zambrano and Marc Crousillat on Why West Side Story Should Be Reinvented

Kevin Zambrano may be making his Broadway debut playing a member of the Sharks gang in West Side Story, but this isn’t his first exposure to the iconic Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein musical. He had actually seen the 2009 Broadway revival starring Karen Olivo. “I went to go see the revival and I had bought a poster and framed it in my bedroom,” he told Broadway.com’s Caitlin Moynihan in a recent #LiveAtFive interview. “It was the Sharks and it was red. I didn't think of it as, ‘I want to do that.’ It was just there, watching over me, I feel, in this weird way. And now I'm a Shark.” 

Both Zambrano and his fellow Shark Marc Crousillat appeared on #LiveAtFive to discuss making their Broadway debuts alongside 31 other cast members in the anticipated revival. West Side Story is about a turf war between two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, and about two lovers, Tony and Maria, caught in the middle. Zambrano and Crousillat never planned to be musical-theater performers. They both have a dance background. Zambrano studied dance at CalArts, while Crousillat performed with the Tricia Brown Dance Company for six years.

“I never did musical theater,” remarked Crousillat. The reason he auditioned for West Side Story was because of choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, who is well-known in the modern dance world, and has created new choreography for West Side Story, which is her first Broadway show. “I've known Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker since college and I auditioned for her school in Brussels and everything. I would not have auditioned for this show if it was not for her.”

This production will mark the first time on Broadway West Side Story is not performed using Jerome Robbins’ iconic choreography (though the finger snaps and mambo were preserved in the 1961 Oscar-winning West Side Story film). But both Zambrano and Crousillat were excited to reinvent how the Sharks and Jets move; the show now uses a mix of modern, hip-hop and Caribbean movements, giving a modern edge to a musical that’s traditionally set in 1957. To Zambrano, this reinvention is a good thing.

“There’s this idea of people trying to compare it to the past and you can't compare it,” said Zambrano. “It’s impossible. It’s a new work and I think that is the best way to remake something—to just completely take it and remix it.”

For Crousillat’s part, this West Side Story is especially unique for him, because he’s performing alongside his sister professionally for the first time; Stephanie Crousillat is also making her debut as a member of the Sharks. “It's really special to be doing this alongside her and just going through this process together and knowing our siblings are all watching and supporting,” he said happily. Their parents even surprised them by going to the first preview of West Side Story in December. “They were waving at us and we were crying. I’ll never forget that.”

Watch the rest of Crousillat and Zambrano's #LiveAtFive interview below.