West Side Story (WSS): The Brooklyn Connection

Wednesday, Sept. 1 - When History Plays a Starring Role

PRLS Professor Emerita, Virginia Sánchez Korrol (educator, historian, and author)

Upon the 60th anniversary of West Side Story (1961) and to launch the PRLS West Side Story: The Brooklyn Connection Lecture Series, Professor Emerita and former Chairperson of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Brooklyn College—Dr. Virginia Sánchez Korrol (BC Class of 1960)—served as historical consultant to West Side Story (2021). She discusses the (im)migration of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. and how knowledge of the history of the Nuyorican community at that time would have enhanced or detracted from the 1961 West Side Story film.

Monday, Sept. 20 - West Side Story Reimagined

Bobby Sanabria (percussionist, music composer, arranger, and producer)

The Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies presents “West Side Story Reimagined” by Maestro Bobby Sanabria—percussionist, seven-time Grammy nominee, and director of the Multiverse Big Band, one of the world’s premiere units for classic Afro-Cuban Jazz. His latest album, West Side Story Reimagined (2018), was created in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the iconic show and its musical composer, Maestro Leonard Bernstein.

Co-hosted by Professor Emerita Dr. Virginia Sánchez Korrol and Dr. María E. Pérez y González.

Wednesday, Sept. 29 - A Conversation with Tony Kushner

Tony Kushner (playwright, author, and screenwriter)

Pulitzer Prize, Emmy, Tony, Obie and Olivier Award-winning writer, Mr. Tony Kushner, responds to impromptu questions about his role as the screenwriter of the West Side Story (2021) film directed by Mr. Steven Spielberg. Co-hosted by Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Professors Dr. Virginia Sánchez Korrol (Class of 1960) and Dr. María Pérez y González, he answers inquiries about authenticity, his writing process, and how to make the “writing table” larger. This is a must-see genuine conversation for anyone interested in West Side Story, the arts, Latinx Studies, the humanities, and social sciences.

Wednesday, Oct. 13 - A Conversation w/Dr. Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz

Ernesto Acevedo Muñoz (educator, author, and director)

The Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies presents “A Conversation with Dr. Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz—educator, author, and director—who has analyzed and written extensively on West Side Story. He wrote "West Side Story as Cinema: The Making and Impact of an American Masterpiece" (2013) and served as a consultant for the December 2021 West Side Story film directed by Mr. Steven Spielberg.

Co-hosted by Professor Emerita Dr. Virginia Sanchez Korrol and Dr. María E. Pérez y González.

Wednesday, Oct. 27 - Coalitions and City Blocks - New York City in the 1950s

Professor Juan González (broadcast journalist, author, educator, and activist)

Prof. Juan González (Democracy Now! TV news co-host and Rutgers University professor) discusses what life was like during the premiere of West Side Story (WSS) and the immediate time afterward. He served as Belle Zeller Professor at Brooklyn College and is author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America as well as News For All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media. A co-founder of the Young Lords, his firsthand experience as a Puerto Rican in NYC in relation to WSS is invaluable.

Wednesday, Nov. 10 - A Conversation w/Victor Cruz

Victor Cruz (actor, creator of Tita’s World, and producer)

Mr. Cruz has appeared on The Good Cop, Blue Bloods, The Other Woman, and West Side Story. He also produces his own projects including: The Victor Cruz Show, Victor Cruz's La Operación, Congratulations Mr. González!, The Stockroom, and TITA (The Animated Series). He served as one of the dialect coaches on WSS (2021) and is currently voicing the character of Frankie Four Feet on the new PBS Kids show Alma's Way executive produced by Sonia Manzano. Come see possibly the first time anywhere in the nation that an animated character is part of an academic event/class session!

Monday, Dec. 6 - A Conversation with Ms. Jeanine Tesori

Jeanine Tesori (music composer, vocal arranger, conductor, and producer)

Ms. Tesori is the supervising vocal producer of West Side Story (2021). She is the recipient of a Tony Award for Fun Home, Drama Desk Awards, Obie Awards, and NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards plus numerous nominations. She was twice named Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway musicals. Co-hosted by Drs. Virginia Sánchez Korrol and María Pérez y González.

Wednesday, Dec. 8 - A Conversation with Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg (film director, producer, and screenwriter)

Serving as an incredible finale to its months-long unique cultural and educational series, West Side Story: The Brooklyn Connection, the college’s Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies presented a conversation with Steven Spielberg, the legendary director of the reimagined film #WestSideStory.

Spielberg was interviewed by Associate Professor María Pérez y González and Professor Emerita Virginia Sánchez Korrol, who were both instrumental in creating the PRLS West Side Story series centering on the 10-time Academy Award–winning 1961 film and its connection to the new film, produced by Spielberg, Tony Kushner, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Kevin McConnell, and Rita Moreno.

“We are thrilled to have Steven Spielberg share his insights about directing his first musical and lend his expertise about the significance of West Side Story, both his new visionary adaptation and the timeless original,” said Dr. María Pérez y González. “The entire series has been an incredible success, and this was the proverbial icing on the cake.”