Can Ansel Elgort Sing? Hell Play Tony in Steven Spielbergs West Side Story
Ansel Elgort has nabbed the lead role of Tony in Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushners upcoming remake ..
Ansel Elgort has nabbed the lead role of Tony in Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushners upcoming remake of West Side Story. A sweet-faced, teenaged, drugstore clerk and former gang member, Tony falls for the lovely Maria in a forbidden romance that kicks off an all-singing, all-dancing bloodbath in 1950s New York. Moviegoers got a taste of Elgorts musical chops as he shimmied and swayed his way to a Golden Globe nomination in Edgar Wrights pop-music-infused heist flick, Baby Driver, last year.
But West Side Story is both a truly cherished stage classic and a beloved 1961 film which won multiple Oscars. So expectations here are sky-high. How qualified then, really, is Elgort for this role? His teen-idol The Fault in Your Stars fandom alone wont be enough to help him here. (Especially since, at 24, hes no longer a teen.) Well, Elgort can sing, theres zero doubt about that. Even if Spielberg decides to capture the singing in this version live, Elgort is up for the task. Here he is crooning in the wild starting at 1:12.
And can he dance? Well, the original-film Tony, Richard Beymer, barely twinkled his toes, so Im not sure thats a huge concern here. But should Spielberg require Elgort to leap balletically through the streets of New York, here again the actor is qualified. He got his start as a ballet dancer and graduated from that performing-arts high school in Fame.
Baby Driver also let us know that Elgort looks great in Tony-esque sneakers, jeans, and a bomber jacket. So what else is there to worry about? Well, according to Billboard, Spielberg spent the better part of a year searching for his Tony, auditioning thousands in a hunt many thought would lead to an unknown being cast in the main roles. There are still plenty of chances for that to happen, especially when it comes to Riff, Bernardo, Anita, and a Maria that Spielberg promises, this time, wont be white-washed the way it was when Natalie Wood played the part in brownface in 1961.
No matter what, look for the social-media savvy Elgort to document every choreographed step of his journey toward Tonys tragic end.
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