PrimeWire

I grew up watching the original 1961 production that featured/starred Rita Moreno. She portrayed Anita. Back then she had the voice of an angel, strong, mesmerizing, and beautiful. It was a joy to hear her sing in this 2021 adaptation, though, at 90 her singing is not as crisp(that comes with aging, of course). And Ansel? I had no idea he could sing; and very well. The actress who portrayed Maria(2021 version) did a wonderful job. As for the majority of The Jets and Sharks singing…they need lessons, badly. I noticed quite a few sour pitched, off key, notes. Kudo’s for their attempts. Perhaps Spielberg should have dubbed their voices like was done for the majority of cast in the original 1961 musical were dubbed. The only person to have bragging rights of singing in the original 1961 musical is Rita Moreno(Anita in 1961 original), who portrays Valentina in the 2021 version(a write in added character in this adaptation). Yes, The character of Valentina is not in the original 1961 version. Thus, there is a quite different story for Tony throughout the entire 1961 musical, and, due to the addition of Valentina in the 2021 version there are slightly different additional scenes and ending.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation.