Several songs in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021) are performed live by the cast, with certain attributes making it clear that the powerful singing is not prerecorded. One should never underestimate the power of Steven Spielberg, as the accomplished director’s first musical, which also happens to be a remake of a Best Picture winner, is also nominated for several top awards at the 2022 Oscars. In reimagining 1961’s West Side Story, Spielberg’s musical revels in the modern advancements of cinematography, sound design, and deep character explorations to breathtakingly capture some of the most iconic songs in Broadway history.
While many will still hold the 1961 classic above Spielberg's adaptation, the live singing gives the 2021 West Side Story has a major advantage over the original. West Side Story (1961) was completely recorded using playback tracks for the film, which was all the more necessary when considering thatalmost all ofTony and Maria's singing was dubbed. Interestingly, while Rita Moreno’s one song in West Side Story (2021) was performed live, the actress was dubbed for “A Boy Like That” in the original film. While the entire cast of West Side Story (2021) sings for their own characters, a significant portion of the original movie’s songs was dubbed with “ghost singers.”
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Unsurprisingly, the songs that are sung live on set in West Side Story (2021) are some of the most operatic and emotional numbers, which are all much more powerful live rather than played back via pre-recorded tracks. Many of West Side Story’s songs require the more traditional tracks to be played due to their extensive choreography, action, and ensemble natures, such as “Tonight (Quintet),” “Gee, Officer Krupke,” and “America.” However, Spielberg saved a few songs to be sung live while shooting West Side Story, with each being apparent in its authenticity while elevating the power of its message.
“Maria”
The first song performedafter “Dance at the Gym” follows Tony after he learns Maria’s name, running through streets and neighborhoods yelling her name in hopes that he finds her again. The Stephen Sondheim-written song, “Maria,” isn’t performed entirely live in West Side Story's movie, with the pre-recorded sections being fairly obvious – such as when Tony is climbing fences and running compared to when he’s just walking or has a close-up. The more actively choreographed parts of “Maria” are from a playback track, while certain sections in which Tony operatically calls to Maria are sung live on set, as requested by Elgort himself. “Maria” is therefore not entirely live, as West Side Story’s executive music producer mixed small bits of Elgort’s live performance in with the pre-recorded number.
“One Hand, One Heart”
The 8th song on West Side Story’s soundtrack, “One Hand, One Heart” is performed live by Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort as Maria and Tony. The scene was filmed on-location at The Met Cloisters in Washington Heights, with the supervising vocal producer notingthat she was moved to tears as Zegler and Elgort sang the operatic song in an almost acapella fashion. Elgert recalled in West Side Story - The Making of the Steven Spielberg Film that the song is sung so softly that it never could have been accomplished onstage, plus the acoustics of the crypt lend themselves perfectly to the “lullaby” song.
During this particular performance of theWest Side Story(2021) song,it's almost as though Elgort and Zegler are talking rather than singing, and the live nature of the number makes Maria and Tony’s love song even more intimate and emotional. Part of what makes it clear that “One Hand, One Heart” is live is the strain in Ansel Elgort’s throat as he belts out the long notesof the song, with the actual music heard in West Side Story matching his exact intonations. Zegler’s singing in this scene almost feels like a recording with how perfectly trained her voice is, but the acoustic echoes from the West Side Story location also give away that her performance is live.
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“A Boy Like That"
As one of the most emotionally-charged songs inWest Side Story, Spielberg’s decision to film “A Boy Like That” live was a powerful creative choice. Out of every song sung live in Disney'sWest Side Story, “A Boy Like That” comes off as the most authentically performed. This is largely due to the breathiness of Anita and Maria’s singing, which is charged by their heartbreak and anger within the scene. West Side Story’s live performance by Zegler and Ariana DeBose brilliantly captures every emotion of Maria and Anita that wouldn’t be accomplished with the same fervor on a pre-recorded track. The subtle voice cracks in the cries of Anita and quick vocal inflections between anger, regret, and confidence for Maria are all felt in the powerful rawness of their performances, which ultimately makes the West Side Story (2021) scene much stronger.
“Somewhere”
Not only is “Somewhere” sung entirely live on set, but it was also adjusted in West Side Story (2021) to be a solo for Rita Moreno (Valentina), who portrayed Anita in West Side Story (1961). In West Side Story’s Broadway musical, “Somewhere” is traditionally a ballet number sung by a performer off-stage, though West Side Story (1961) wrote the songinto the film as a duet between Tony and Maria. Director Steven Spielberg switched up the song’s inclusion yet again, giving it to Valentina (a character created specifically for Moreno as a replacement for Doc) as she breathtakingly sings about the hope of a better world. Spielberg and Tony Kushner, West Side Story’s screenwriter and executive producer, felt Moreno singing “Somewhere” would be important as a “powerful connection between the era the musical depicts and the present day.”
Likely to make up for Moreno being unable to perform any of the originalWest Side Story’s songs live on set, “Somewhere” is sung live as an intimate numberthat digs at the heart of the film’s message. West Side Story’s (2021) music arranger, David Newman, mentioned in West Side Story: The Making of Steven Spielberg’s Film that “Somewhere” was intended to sound “raw and devastating,” which was already settled atthe film’s first table read when Moreno sang it through and “there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.” The set was closed on the day that Moreno sang “Somewhere,” with the crew creating as intimate an environment as possible to elicit the authenticity in Moreno’s voice. The live West Side Story song comes off nearly as acapella, which is clear in the film by how softly and emotionally Moreno’s voice projects.
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