Ck Soden

The music of course is still stellar. The acting and singing pale in comparison to the original version, with the exceptions of Ariana DeBose as Anita and Rita Moreno as Valentina. Moreno is amazing still beautiful and clear voiced. The choreography was gorgeous, much of it retread from the original. The androgynous character of Anybodys was in the original play and movie so this blathering about adding a non-binary/LGBTQ character is hogwash. I am not sure if it is the acting, directing or lack of chemistry, but neither I nor my 20 something children found the romance between Tony and Maria believable or passionate. The outdoor street scenes were a nice change, but as the setting remained in the 50s, they didn’t feel authentic. It’s hard to understand why you would go to the trouble of remaking this movie without making it more contemporary, especially as the themes are unfortunately still so relevant. I see no reason to have kept it in the 50s. Perhaps if you have never seen the original or the stage production, you won’t find this disappointing. We all did. You are far better off watching the original, this remake will sink into oblivion as it well should.