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10 - West Side Story and the Hispanic Problem

from Part II - The Work Itself and Its Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2025

By
Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz
Edited by
Paul R. Laird  and
Elizabeth A. Wells
Paul R. Laird
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Elizabeth A. Wells
Affiliation:
Mount Allison University, Canada
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Summary

This chapter explores practices and trends in Hispanic representation and casting in historic productions of West Side Story, particularly the 1957 Broadway production directed by Jerome Robbins, and the 1961 film directed by Robert Wise. Representation of the Puerto Rican ‘Sharks’ has been debated from sociological and cultural studies perspectives. Casting practices showing differentiation between the characters Anita and Maria as agents–sexually and racially–along with the problem of ‘racial profiling’ of Puerto Rican characters (including ‘brown face,’ homogenous accents, hairstyles, and colour) indicate ambivalent approaches toward these roles. Subsequent productions of West Side Story, including 1980 and 2009 Broadway revivals, and the 2012 intersection in the television series Glee, reproduce these practices. The chapter also explores how recent productions, including the 2020 Broadway revival directed by Ivo van Hove and !the 2021 film remake directed by Steven Spielberg, have made efforts to positively revise casting and representation issues.

Keywords

West Side Story Hispanic representationstereotypescastingrevivals and remakesChita RiveraRita MorenoDebbie AllenNaya RiveraKaren OlivoAriana DeBose
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to West Side Story , pp. 170 - 187
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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