It’s easy for “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler to sing the praises of Stephen Sondheim.
Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics for 1957′s original “West Side Story” musical, died last month at age 91, two weeks before the latest film adaptation of the Broadway show hits theaters Friday.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Zegler told the Daily News.
“So much of what art is nowadays, especially in the context of musical theater, started with a lot of what he did. My first favorite musical was ‘Sweeney Todd,’ and I got to tell him that.”
Sondheim was a lyricist or composer on many of Broadway’s most-beloved musicals, including “Gypsy,” “Company,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and “Into the Woods.”
The eight-time Tony recipient was in the vocal booth when the cast did recording sessions for the new “West Side Story” movie, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.
“‘West Side Story’ was one of his first professional gigs,” Zegler said. “It was my first professional gig, and that is a really cool connection to have with this project. It’s very special. I hope that it reintroduces his artistry. Not that it needs to be reintroduced. He’s been here forever. He will be here forever, but it’s for a new age, and hopefully people are able to appreciate his art.”
Zegler, 20, stars in “West Side Story” as Maria, a Puerto Rican teenager whose relationship with a white teen fuels the feud between New York gangs known as the Jets and the Sharks.
“It was really a focus on the things that we already had in common, and we had a lot in common,” Zegler said of her approach to the role. “She’s 18 years old. She’s living in Nueva York for the first time. She’s at odds with herself in trying to figure out where she fits in the world, and I was on my first film set not really knowing what the hell I was doing.”
Zegler, whose upcoming roles include the title character in Disney’s live-action “Snow White,” said director Steven Spielberg “always informed me that using my fear was a strength, and that was a tool, and it was so helpful for him to say that to me. I continue to use that with all of the things and the projects that I work on after.”
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