A Sequel To West Side Story

[A Director]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 3:23am

A commission at the Long Wharf Theatre.

UNIVERSES, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ensemble, will use the commission to develop a new musical, Maria. A response to cultural appropriation in West Side Story, the new musical focuses on what happens to Maria after the original musical concludes.

“Our jump-off point begins where the imagined Puerto Rican lives that inspired West Side Story left off,” said UNIVERSES co-founded Steven Sapp in a statement. “Interweaving true Puerto Rican narratives, we discover the journey of a starry-eyed Puerto Rican girl through her life’s journey, witnessing what she has experienced and the world she has inspired along the way.”

[Fan123]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 4:01am

So sort of.... '& Maria'?

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 8:00am

I was hoping for West Side Zombies: Maria and Doc team up to put down all the reanimated corpses of the Sharks and Jets.

[Ladylusiphur]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 8:25am

Fan123 said: "So sort of.... '& Maria'?"

Hmmmm.... It does have a familiar ring to it.... 

 

Seriously though, do we need this? Maria isn't exactly the most exciting character in musical history. Anita always seemed like the most interesting of the two female leads to me, I'd find it more interesting if they did something about the lives of the secondary/minor characters as the main events are happening, a bit Rosencrantz and Guildenstern style. 

I second West Side Zombies though. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 9:48am

Do we "need" any musical?  Not really.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 5:18pm

Isn't that the plot of the fake musical in Tootsie?

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 6:12pm

"A response to cultural appropriation in West Side Story...  and we will do this by appropriating the worldwide name recognition of West Side Story to gain attention for our show that few people might otherwise have an interest in."

Cool!

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 6:40pm

Somehow, I don't see the Laurents estate letting this proceed.  But, I've been surprised before.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 3/9/20 at 11:51pm

Wait what?

[Tom5]

Posted: 3/10/20 at 6:09pm

Any score composed would pale in comparison to the original. In fact "pale" isn't a strong enough word. So forget it!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/10/20 at 6:24pm

Unless it stars Carol Lawrence, I couldn’t care less.

[Globefan]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 10:35pm

As long as Rachel Zegler reprises the role in the film, I'm good