West Side Story (2021 version) Quiz

Answer: Valentina

Moreno plays Valentina, the widow of Doc, the owner of the drug store in the original film. She has a unique perspective on the romance between Tony and Maria as a Hispanic woman who married a white man (during the Nadir of race relations, probably sometime in the 1920s).

Moreno, who won an Academy Award for playing Anita, has lost none of her steps as she approaches 90. Valentina is a mentor to Tony, giving him life advice and tutoring him in Spanish.

Rosalia (Ana Isabelle Acevedo Aviles), Charita (Tanairi Sade Vazquez) and Jacinta (Edriz E. Rosa Pérez) are girlfriends of the Sharks.

Answer: Lincoln Center

The 2021 film opens with a long pan over a neighborhood that is in the process of renewal (or annihilation, from the perspective of the Jets). Half bulldozed apartment buildings are being removed to make way for the soon to be built Lincoln Center. Groundbreaking began in the spring of 1959 and construction continued throughout the 1960s.

The demolition intro would place the setting for much of the action on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (hence the name of the play). Lincoln Center is just west of Broadway, between 62nd and 65th Streets. It is the premier performing arts center in the United States, and is home to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (which Leonard Bernstein led at the time he was working on "West Side Story").

The issue of urban renewal is a major subplot for "West Side Story" as the Jets feel they are being driven out of their neighborhood by forces they can't control. Add a major influx of immigrants into New York, and you have the keys to the tension in the play.

The World Trade Center was built in the early 1970s in lower Manhattan. The UN headquarters was built on the east side of the city and completed in 1952. Shea Stadium was in Flushing Meadows, Queens and was completed in 1964.

Spielberg uses the demolished landscape to great effect, especially during "Jet Song" at the start of the film.

Answer: A bathroom

Riff and Bernardo meet in the men's room of the community center during, or shortly after, the dance. They discuss the location and weapons (and specifically exclude guns). Riff would later violate that and bring a gun to the rumble. Tony's attempt to talk Riff out of bringing the gun leads to a highly stylized performance of 'Cool."

Doc's drugstore was the setting for the negotiation in the 1961 film.

Answer: Anita and Bernardo are the lead singers

Anita (Ariana DeBose) and Bernardo (David Alvarez) are the lead singers on "America" and do a fantastic job of it. Spielberg places "America" after the balcony scene between Tony and Maria, which is in keeping with the musical lineup of the 1958 Broadway play.

The 1961 version takes place at night; the 2021 version occurs during the next morning.

The 1961 version happens on a roof top, while the 2021 version takes place in a variety of venues, with Anita and Bernardo walking all around the neighborhood

Spielberg's version of "America" is much more expansive and includes members of the community towards the end of the song, including several children dancing with the adult cast.

While it is a minor cosmetic difference, Ariana DuBose wears a yellow dress in the 2021 film. while Rita Moreno wore a purple dress during the 1961 version of "America".

Answer: Gimbel's

She is working at Gimbel's Department Store, which is the setting for "I Feel Pretty". By placing the upbeat song after the rumble, Spielberg makes it extra poignant, because viewers already know that their love is doomed due to the deaths of Riff and Bernardo. This is another case where Spielberg follows the lineup of the 1958 Broadway play.


Maria (Natalie Wood) worked at a bridal shop in the 1961 film.

Answer: The Cloisters

The Cloisters is a restored French monastery which was placed in Fort Tyron Park on the upper west side of Manhattan. The museum, which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was created between 1935 and 1939. It has spectacular views of the Hudson River.

Plot wise, Tony reveals to Maria that he is a former convict who spend a year in prison for assaulting a rival gang member. They also hold a makeshift wedding ceremony and sing "One Hand, One Heart".

The Guggenheim Museum, one of the world's leading modern art facilities, was built on the upper east side of New York in 1937 and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. New York's Botanic Garden is located in the Bronx and has been around since 1891. Saint Patrick's is one of the most spectacular churches in the United States architecturally, and was built between 1858 and 1879.

Answer: City Salt Sheds

The rumble takes place in a municipal warehouse where the city public works department keeps salt for de-icing streets in the winter time. The action in the film takes place in mid summer. According to Riff it is located near 57th Street and Riverside.

The river, docks, and railyards are mentioned as possible locations for the rumble during the negotiation in the bathroom. The underpass is given as a nod to the 1961 film. The rumble took place under the highway in the original film.

During the rumble, Riff and Bernardo get into a knife fight and Bernardo stabs Riff. In a fit of anger and revenge, Tony kills Bernardo.

Answer: Valentina

Valentina (Rita Moreno) sings a melancholy version of "Somewhere" in her store.
In the 1961 film, "Somewhere" was sung by Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer).

Answer: Police Station

There are several changes with "Officer Krupke" in the 2021 film. One is its placement, immediately after "America"; in the 1961 film, it is after "Tonight". In the 1961 film, Riff (Russ Tamblyn) was the lead singer; he is not even in the 2021 version. And the 2021 version takes place inside the police station, where the cops are questioning members of the Jets about the rumble.

In the 2021 film, "Officer Krupke" is performed by Diesel (Kevin Csolak), Big Deal (John Michael Fuimara), A-Rab (Jesse LeProtto), Mouthpiece (Ben Cook), Snowboy (Myles Erlick), Baby John (Patrick Higgins) & Balkan (Kyle Allen). It is actually a significant improvement of the 1961 version of the song.

Answer: True

Absolutely true, and an amazing film debut it is. Zegler is absolutely dazzling from her first seconds on screen, and makes her romance with Tony (Ansel Elgort) absolutely believable.

Zegler is Latina. Her mother is Colombian, and her grandmother emigrated from Colombia. She graduated from high school in June 2019. In January 2018, Speilberg selected Zegler from among 30,000 applicants, and the young Latina proved an extremely wise choice.

Zegler was has been nominated for multiple awards for her debut performance, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, Unfortunately, she was not nominated for an Academy Award.