Ansel Elgort gives an update on ‘West Side Story’ and sings ‘Maria’ snippet

Elgort (right) and Nicole Kidman in “The Goldfinch” —AMAZON STUDIOS

LOS ANGELES—Ansel Elgort, who is currently filming Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical, “West Side Story,” was asked on a lark if he can sing “Maria.”

“Can I?” Ansel asked aloud with a grin. He landed the plum Tony role in the musical classic with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

“A little bit,” he added with a laugh. And then he sang a snippet: “Maria, I’ve just met a girl named Maria and suddenly that name will never be the same to me.”

Now, we can’t wait to watch and listen to Ansel croon a full version of that musical theater chestnut.

Playing Maria in Steven’s take on the Broadway production, not the 1961 film, is Rachel Zegler. Rita Moreno, who wore a Pitoy Moreno gown when she won the 1962 best supporting actress Oscar as Anita in the original movie, portrays Valentina this time. (Rita wore the same gown 56 years later in the 2018 Oscars and stirred fashion buzz.)

The cast includes Jamie Harris, Maddie Ziegler, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Kyle Allen, Mike Faist and Ariana DeBose, who has the Anita role.

Ansel currently stars as the adult Theo Decker in “The Goldfinch,” director John Crowley’s adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name by Donna Tartt. Also in the drama are Nicole Kidman, Oakes Fegley, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Wilson and Sarah Paulson.

Excerpts from our chat:

Ansel Elgort —RUBEN V. NEPALES

What is your relationship to the original “West Side Story”? It’s a great musical. I have a big picture of Leonard Bernstein that my father (Arthur Elgort, a fashion photographer) took. Actually, the interesting thing about Leonard Bernstein is my mother (Grethe Barrett Holby, an opera director) worked with him and my father took his photo, so both my parents knew him.

In the house I grew up in, on the wall of the living room above the piano, there were all these photos of my grandfather.

I never knew my grandfather, but there were all these photos of my grandfather. In one of them, he’s playing the piano, wearing a suit.

I said at one point, “Oh, yeah, like all the photos of grandpa in the living room.” My mom and dad said, “That’s not your grandfather. That’s Leonard Bernstein.” I said, “Who’s that?” They said, “He wrote the music for ‘West Side Story’ and ‘A Quiet Place’ and all these musicals.”

I started to get to know Leonard Bernstein and now I’m doing the musical. It seems crazy and Alexander Bernstein, his son, is there. And that music is so special. I did it at summer camp when I was 12. I was banging on the trash can.

The original featured great choreography. Well, actually, in this version we do, too, yeah. We have a little more dancing.

So this Steven Spielberg version features more dancing than the original? Well, Tony doesn’t dance much in the original. But they let me dance a little. That’s nice.

What has been your experience working with Steven Spielberg like? I feel very lucky to be working with him. He is a visionary. He is also an amazing leader on set. It’s the smoothest set I’ve ever been on. He’s so positive. He’s always trying to have a great time, even though the film can be really heavy.

Toward the end of the film, “West Side Story” gets heavy. I just put all my trust in him. He’s Steven Spielberg.

How much do you enjoy the dancing in the movie? I love the dancing. The dancing and singing are my favorite parts. Acting, singing and dancing are all the same. They just have different technical aspects, but it’s all like expressing yourself truthfully. I love dancing for that reason and the physicality of that is great, too.

What was fun about “Baby Driver” was that those action sequences were like dancing because there was a lot of physicality and I love being physical. I love throwing myself around.

We just shot the rumble in “West Side Story.” It was so physical, but so rewarding. This role has been great in that way. And the dancing aspect of it makes me feel at my happiest. After dancing all week, I feel so good.

How many more days of filming? We’re done on the 25th of September. I’m going to go back tonight, so if you want to come with me (laughs) … if you want to show up. I might get in trouble with Steven, but (laughs) …

You were busy coming out with singles a while ago. What’s the latest on your music career? It’s going well. I haven’t been doing it that much because of “West Side Story.” But I make music when I can, and it’s nice because it’s my own project.

Are you still trying to master piano playing? That was going to be a lot of work. I should just master my voice and performance. Maybe that’s more important, but I’d like to do everything—like Prince, you know. Just practice.

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