West Side Story photo spread with J. Lo in Vanity Fair

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 11:47am

West Side Story Revisited

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 11:59am

Whew glad it is only a photospread and not an announcement of her remaking the film! That woman is the world's worst actress. I STILL want my money and two hours of my life back from The Cell!

[JenNYferTheatrical]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:05pm

Chris Evans looks a lot like Curtis does in the revival.
This is a fun shoot, I have to admit!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:15pm

"I never wanted to be that wimpy Maria, who sits around pining for her guy. I wanted to be Anita, who danced her way to the top."

I resent that ._. Maria isn't wimpy.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:18pm

GREAT spread!

[SingingCats]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:22pm

Bummer that this is a web exclusive, I'd love hard copies.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:22pm

Oh God, Ashley Tisdale is Graziella...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:27pm

The pictures are "COOL", but the very first line of the article is incorrect.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:29pm

Camilla Belle is gorgeous though I don't care for the white dresses. Too short.

"Oh God, Ashley Tisdale is Graziella"

I'm not a fan of her's but she looks good in the single photo she appears on.

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 12:29 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:40pm

Those costumes are SO much better than the ridiculous costumes in the current revival.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:42pm

"Those costumes are SO much better than the ridiculous costumes in the current revival."

I had the SAME thought. With the exception of Maria's white dresses the costumes were top notch.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:45pm

I love Maria's red dress at the end.

And yeah, Ashley looks fine, it's just... the principle

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 12:45 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:50pm

"And yeah, Ashley looks fine, it's just... the principle"

Look at it this way - by using people like Tisdale, Pattinson (who's face is obscured for some reason), Evans, et al they're bridging the gap between "elite" musical theatre fans and the "tween" pop set. Some tween will see this picture and say "Hey, I want to see West Side Story". So they rent it and love it. "Hey, mom, can we see West Side Story on Broadway?" A theatre fan is born.

Think of Tisdale as the fertilizer that makes theatre fans grow

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 12:50 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:56pm

Haha, that's a good way to think of it.

[Trish2]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 1:03pm

Looks like the NY POST is jumping on the WSS photoshoot bandwagon too. So odd considering that this cast is "GAP COMMERCIAL" ready, yet they're not being used for many photo shoots
BEST SIDE STORY

[logan0215]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 1:43pm

I love the VF shoot. JLo looks outstanding. Even in a mid-dance, she looks fierce as balls.

The white dress is a high fashion dress. The point of the shoot was not only to feature WSS and celebrities, but to display current fashion so they probably took a cue from the original scene where she wears that color then found a modern equivalent.

EDIT: It wasn't Annie, it was Mark Seliger who did the photos.
Updated On: 3/17/09 at 01:43 PM

[Amaranth9]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:01pm

JLo does look great in that "America" shot. And Rodrigo Santoro is a hottie. =)

[EVIE]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:14pm

Prince Caspian as Tony....yummy yummo!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:15pm

It's funny that they are celebrating the (first??)Broadway revival by recreating the Movie!
Just shows how popular the movie still is.
Even JLo knows we want Anita in a short American "bob"
which shows how much she is trying to fit in AMERICA.

[Shannon Bo Dannon]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:58pm

I LOVE this photoshoot!

Rodrigo Santoro as Bernardo is kind of incredible. I adore the costumes too!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 3:42pm

I really like the pictures.

And these costumes are infinitely better than the ones in the current production.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 4:05pm

Speak for yourself, CurtainPullDowner. Putting a bob on Anita in this day and age would make her look matronly- you know, that same complaint you used about Karen when the first production pictures popped up. From the current cultural perspective, that hairstyle is only seen on older women. Regardless of what decade the revival is supposed to be in, a bobbed haircut would not translate to today's audiences as "trying to fit in America"- especially since none of the American Jets girls have that hairstyle either.

The hairstyle may be a tradition, but it is not a requirement for proper characterization. That interpretation doesn't apply anymore.

[logan0215]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 4:24pm

Matronly would be the last word I would use to describe the woman above.

JLo looks amazing with her hair as it is in these pictures, the same goes for Moreno in the film and Chita in the OBC. The only one who looks out of place is Olivo with her Rapunzel 'du. In fact, Olivo's hair looks more like when an elderly woman who wears her hair up all day takes it down to go to bed.
Updated On: 3/17/09 at 04:24 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 4:32pm

Great photos. Definitely captures the spirit of the piece a lot more than the present revival does.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 5:46pm

That doesn't look matronly either.

No one wears their hair as short as Rita Moreno did in the movie anymore, so Anita's short hair doesn't have the same "meaning" as it did in 1957 or 1961. There's nothing in the script that requires it and none of the rest of the cast have period hairstyles. I don't necessarily love Karen's hair, but there's nothing wrong with it not being the bob.

If your enjoyment of the show is hinged on something as petty as a hairstyle and the correct shade of purple dress, Robbins could come back from the grave to direct a revival identical to the original and it still wouldn't live up to the fantasy expectations you have.

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 05:46 PM