West Side Story Play Analysis
There have been several moments in theatre that seems to whitewash the ethnic characters. West Side Story is one of those musicals. West Side Story is a loose musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The twist is that it’s set in 1950s New York, with the plot set around youth street gangs entangled in a racially charged conflict over their “territory” in the lower West Side of Manhattan. There is the Puerto Rican “Sharks” led by Bernardo, who has recently brought his family, including younger sister Maria, to New York from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Then there are the Polish-Irish “Jets”, led by Riff, formerly led by Tony. In the Original Cast of West Side Story in 1957 only one of the three principal characters portraying Puerto
Ricans was actually of Hispanic decent. That actress was Chita Rivera who is of Puerto Rican decent. In the movie adaption of West Side Story in 1961 the creative team received criticism for “whitewashing” the Hispanic characters by casting Non-Hispanics in Hispanic roles. When asked about the stereotypes portrayed in the movie Rita Moreno (Anita in West Side Story 1961) responded with "So the white kids had to have their hair bleached and have extra-pale makeup," Moreno recalls, "and we had to wear all one-color makeup, almost the color of mud — and it felt like it. We all had to have accents — many of us who were Hispanic did not have them. I asked the makeup artist, 'Why do we have to be one color? Because Hispanics are many different colors (Barco).' " Hispanics are stereotyped as dark skinned with dark hair and eyes. What many do not know is that they come in all different colors, there are even blonde and blue eyes Hispanics. Imagine that. “The new crop of Broadway shows represent a sea change in representation. In the past, shows were written about Hispanics (West Side Story), but not by Hispanics. Nor was it unusual for a show with Latino characters not to hire any actual Latino actors; the original Broadway production of Evita, a show set entirely in Argentina, was picketed by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors for not hiring Latinos (Reyes).”
Ricans was actually of Hispanic decent. That actress was Chita Rivera who is of Puerto Rican decent. In the movie adaption of West Side Story in 1961 the creative team received criticism for “whitewashing” the Hispanic characters by casting Non-Hispanics in Hispanic roles. When asked about the stereotypes portrayed in the movie Rita Moreno (Anita in West Side Story 1961) responded with "So the white kids had to have their hair bleached and have extra-pale makeup," Moreno recalls, "and we had to wear all one-color makeup, almost the color of mud — and it felt like it. We all had to have accents — many of us who were Hispanic did not have them. I asked the makeup artist, 'Why do we have to be one color? Because Hispanics are many different colors (Barco).' " Hispanics are stereotyped as dark skinned with dark hair and eyes. What many do not know is that they come in all different colors, there are even blonde and blue eyes Hispanics. Imagine that. “The new crop of Broadway shows represent a sea change in representation. In the past, shows were written about Hispanics (West Side Story), but not by Hispanics. Nor was it unusual for a show with Latino characters not to hire any actual Latino actors; the original Broadway production of Evita, a show set entirely in Argentina, was picketed by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors for not hiring Latinos (Reyes).”