Steven Spielberg Casts Corey Stoll and Brian d’Arcy James As Cops in WEST SIDE STORY
Steven Spielberg has cast Corey Stoll (Ant-Man) and Brian d’Arcy James (Spotlight) as police officers in the upcoming film adaptation of the classic Broadway musical, West Side Story.
According to Variety, Stoll will play Lieutenant Schrank, “the New York City detective charged with quelling civic unrest in his racially-torn precinct”. James will play Sergeant Krupke, “a veteran cop whose beat includes the territories of two warring street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets.”
Sergeant Krupke was the subject of the “Gee Officer Krupke” song which ends with the memorable line, “Gee, Officer Krupke – Krup you!”
The recently cast actors will join 17-year-old Rachel Zegler, who was cast as Maria and Ansel Elgort as Tony. The film also stars original movie star Rita Moreno as Valentina, who is a “reconceived version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store where Tony works.” Broadway veterans Ariana DeBose will play Anita, David Alvarez will take on the role of Bernardo, and theater performer Josh Andrés Rivera has been cast as Chino.
This latest West Side Story adaptation was written by Oscar nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner (Lincoln, Munich). The story was originally written by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim with music by Leonard Bernstein.
Filming for West Side Story is set to begin in the summer of 2019.