Daily Times

Steven Spielberg has cast an unknown 17-year-old as Maria in his upcoming ‘West Side Story’ remake. New Jersey High School student Rachel Zegler, 17, won the role after Spielberg received 30,000 submissions for the role. She will play Maria opposite Ansel Elgort, who will play Tony, according to Variety. Rounding out the cast are Broadway stars Ariana DeBose as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo and Josh Andrés Rivera as Chino. The casting team reportedly put a call out for the role of Maria and received 30,000 replies. Zegler submitted a video of herself singing ‘Tonight’ and ‘Me Siento Hermosa’ (I Feel Pretty). “When I played Maria on stage a few summers ago, I never could have imagined that I’d be taking on the role again in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story,” Zegler wrote on Instagram. “As a Colombian-American woman growing up in this day and age, strong roles like Maria are so important. To be able to bring that role to life – a role that means so much to the hispanic community – is so humbling.”

Published in Daily Times, January 16^th 2019.