Bilingual "West Side Story"

With the success of "In The Heights" on Broadway, it was inevitable that someone would try to duplicate the Latino theater experience. One would think that they would be searching Latino theaters and talent to bring something new. That would be too much effort for a Broadway that has made its business with revivals and musicals based on movies.
The new big idea, ironically by the same producers of "In The Heights", is to do a revival of West Side Story but to have the Puerto Ricans speaking Spanish! This would have been innovative about ten years ago.
As much as I appreciate "West Side Story" as a classic musical, it has haunted my life as well as most Puerto Ricans who grew up in New York in the sixties and seventies. When I was younger, I could not tell you how many people I met who upon learning where I was born, brought up the fact that they loved "WSS". The ones who felt the impact most were Puerto Rican women, especially if they had the misfortune of having the name Maria.
The one positive aspect of this revival is that, hopefully, some Latino talent will be hired for the starring role and not just the chorus line.
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