ANITA SPEAKS HER MIND
ARIANA DEBOSE, LIKE HER CHARACTER IN ‘WEST SIDE STORY,’ DOESN’T HOLD BACK HER OPINION. EVEN TO STEVEN SPIELBERG.
RIANA DEBOSE genuinely melted the soles of her shoes while dancing in the new adaptation of “West Side Story,” directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Tony Kushner. While performing the spirited rendition of “America” outdoors in summertime New York City under movie lights that made it even hotter, DeBose’s shoes gave out. More than once.
At just 31, DeBose is a Broadway veteran, having appeared in the original cast of “Hamilton” and numerous other productions including “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.” Now she has been nominated for an Academy Award for supporting actress for her role as Anita in “West Side Story.” Rita Moreno won for the same part in the 1961 film adaptation and the pair would be the first women and people of color to win the Oscar for playing the same character.
From her home in New York City, DeBose recently sat for a conversation with The Envelope podcast.
“West Side Story” casting director Cindy Tolan has talked about how she really pursued you for the part of Anita, that she asked you four times to audition and you initially didn’t want to do it.
It’s so funny. I don’t remember it that way, but I know she’s telling the truth. I was hesitant to go in for many reasons. Latinas in the industry don’t really look like me — or hadn’t — and roles like this had not really been manifested in Black Latinas — not for nothing.
I also was hesitant because I was like, “Do we need to tell this story again?” And then ultimately the answer for me was, well, if I was going to do it, I would want to give it a new perspective, and my being gives it a new perspective. My Afro Latinidad, my heritage, my lived experience as a Black woman can give this something new, maybe something we’ve yet to see.
But I also questioned whether there was space for that. I mean, Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for her portrayal. She is a legend in her own time, and her portrayal is beloved. So I questioned whether or not there was space for me.
As I understand it, you said to Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner that you wanted the role to reflect your identity as an Afro Latina woman. What is that conversation like?
I think the spirit just caught me. I must’ve eaten my Wheaties that day or something because I don’t know where it all came from. It just started falling out of my mouth, and I felt very bold in that moment. But I can tell you that I was raised by an incredibly strong woman. My mother was a single parent, and she’s a public school teacher. She raised me to speak my mind respectfully and to have great love for where you come from and also be determined about the direction you want to go and then just go for it. So perhaps my upbringing was sort of leading the charge there, maybe?
And were they receptive to this notion? How did that conversation go in the room?
Well, it was that first day that I had met Steven. I danced, and he enjoyed my dancing. He asked me to sing, he enjoyed my singing. Then we got to the acting portion, and he asked me if I would read. And I said, “No.” And he said, “No?” And Cindy Tolan chimed in and was like, “No, we spoke about Ariana. She just would like more time to be prepared.”
I had said to Cindy the night before that these are Tony Kushner expanded scenes — they were a bit wordy — and I didn’t feel like I had enough time to actually prepare. And given my experience as a woman of color, you don’t walk into these rooms unprepared. Otherwise they don’t take you seriously, and sometimes you don’t get another chance. So I said no, and she backed me up, and he said, “You won’t read today, but will you come back another time?” And I said I would be honored.
Then he asked if there was anything else that he should know, and that’s when my mouth just started moving. And I said, “You know, I would be the darkest woman to play this, or at least this role onscreen. And if you aren’t interested in reflecting that in the context of your script, in the context of this storytelling, then I don’t think that you should hire me.” Because — well, I didn’t say this part in the room, but the point of that statement was — Afro Latinas are very frequently erased from the conversation around Latinidad or Hispanic heritage. There are facets of our community that really erase that lived experience because it was preferred for you to have lighter skin.
I understand that prior to production you were not fluent in Spanish. So on top of all the other work that you’re doing for this role, you’re also learning Spanish?
Yes, I’m still not fluent. I can hold my own, but I conduct absolutely no interviews in Español because I get nervous. I forget everything. I don’t believe in speaking it badly, so for some odd reason, it was easier for me to step into the shoes of Anita and speak Spanish. But as Ariana, I struggle, and I don’t like representing the language poorly. It’s something I still practice to this day.
Was that something that had ever come up before? Did people assume that you spoke Spanish, or was it ever an issue for you prior to this that you didn’t speak Spanish fluently?
OK, Mark, let’s talk about it. I took Spanish in high school. For the longest time, it was assumed that I was African American, and no one ever really asked me how I identified. And then when I did ask to be seen for Hispanic roles, even English-speaking Hispanic roles — whether on Broadway or in the film and television realm — nine times out of 10, I was told I was too Black to be considered Hispanic. So, honestly, “West Side Story” is the first time I’ve ever been considered for a role that is something I actually am. I am Puerto Rican. My father is Puerto Rican. I’m a mixed-race human being. I am Afro Latina, and I’m Puerto Rican. Isn’t that interesting?
That’s wild that this is the first time that you’ve portrayed a Latina character.
Well, the first — I played a character named Nautica in “Bring It On: The Musical,” and if I am correct, it was never specified that she must be Hispanic. Over time the character just became whatever she was. The term “ethnically ambiguous” comes to mind. I now hold the belief that that can be a very damaging term, and I would love it if we would stop using it.
How so?
Well, I think saying ethnically ambiguous is different than saying there is no specific ethnicity for this character. Come in and portray what is on the page. Ethnically ambiguous to me is gray. And as someone with a lived experience that feels like [it] has been relegated to the gray, it’s not something that is given light. We don’t shine light on gray.
In my professional experience, anytime I saw a character that lent itself toward ethnic ambiguity, it meant they were a sidekick and they were not really integral to the plot, and that bothers me. To me, there are no small parts; every part matters. So why not just say, “Ethnicity is not specific to the portrayal of this character. Come in with an idea.”
You mentioned earlier that you asked yourself this question of “Why even do this new version of the story?” How did you answer the question?
Well, I think it’s twofold. I think she has a valid opinion and a valid perspective. For me, “West Side Story” is still a musical, and as a professional who has worked on Broadway for a decade-plus, I’ve never seen a musical that is 100% based on fact. Absolutely not because otherwise you lose this otherworldly element of it, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t strive to root it in reality. And for me, once I had spoken with Steven and Tony and realized their commitment to doing their best, to representing Hispanic culture to the best of their ability, from the point of admitting that they are two white Jewish men and there’s no way they could possibly understand that lived experience. They humbled themselves, and they went to the University of Puerto Rico to speak to the community, to ask what their grievances were, so that they could try to do better than what was done before. For me, that is several steps in the right direction, because that is not what is done every day.
Tony Kushner has said how he wasn’t trying to fix the play. He didn’t want to be in competition with the 1961 film. In some ways, I’m wondering if you approach this almost as if it was a production of “Hamlet” or something, in that you can approach this text as a classic work. So you want to bring whatever modern sensibility or whatever you all can bring to this text, by doing it again today.
Absolutely. I love that you referenced Shakespeare because I have also referenced Shakespeare. We don’t complain as an industry that people [make] multiple productions of Shakespeare or reimagine it. Nobody is complaining that “King Lear” was done with a completely diverse cast or set in a different time period. We don’t complain about that. So what’s the difference? I don’t see the difference. So that’s why I say there was no need for me to go and study the 1961 film, the Robert Wise film, because it had already been done. The only reason for us to approach this work was to see what we could do in service of offering a different perspective on a text that is a classic.
As someone who’s a real fan of musical theater, what does it mean to you being a part of “West Side Story,” to be able to put yourself into the heritage and the lineage of what that production means for the Broadway community?
It means a great deal, and that is the long and the short of it. It means a great deal. I don’t know that I ever really realized what taking this job fully would mean in the macro of it, but it’s an honor to realize that my name will sit alongside Chita Rivera’s and Rita Moreno’s and Debbie Allen’s. It means a lot to have been given the opportunity to make a text so deeply steeped in Broadway legacy for the silver screen and to allow it to become part of the legacy because, at the end of the day, film lasts forever. That’s huge, and I don’t think I’ll fully process that for a very long time.