(upbeat music)
- The Broadway Show is back with another stellar episode.
I'm Tamsen Fadal.
- [Lieutenant Schrank] It's happening tonight.
(heavy, anxious percussion and distant whistling)
I want the West Side locked down.
- [Fadal] So this is the most anticipated
movie musical event of the year,
Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story.
Paul got to know one of the stars, David Alvarez.
- Thanks, Tamsen!
David Alvarez dazzled Broadway as one of the young leads
of Billy Elliot, winning a Tony award at the age of 15.
Since then more ballet, more Broadway, the army, college,
and now a star turn as Bernardo
in Steven Spielberg's reboot of West Side Story.
I found out more when I met up with him at Time Hotel.
- Where are you going with my sister?
- [Maria] Bernardo, no, no!
(crowd yelling)
- Your brother has something to say to you.
- I apologize for behaving last night like.
- Like a gangster!
- Steven Spielberg has a made a big, splashy, brand new
movie version of West Side Story.
You're Bernardo, one of my favorite characters.
How does it feel to be right on the cusp of like,
the world, getting this movie?
- I mean, I'm so excited cause we all worked so hard
to bring this to life and I think everyone brought so much
talent and unique abilities to this to bring it to life,
and, you know, share a new version of the story.
A new perspective on this story.
- Talk about the filming because you were filming
on the streets of New York,
what was it like to actually get in those costumes,
start dancing and tell that story?
- [Alvarez] I mean, it's honestly...
when I was behind the camera and I saw, you know, Steven
and everyone working so closely together,
I just couldn't believe that I was in the middle
of one of the greatest directors of all time.
You know, I've watched his movies when I was a kid
and I always dreamt of,
oh imagine if I ever did a movie like that.
- What were some Spielberg movies that meant a lot?
- [Alvarez] Oh! E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park.
- So Spielberg meant a lot.
- Yeah, he meant so much to me.
And finally being there and being surrounded by his team,
I felt like everyone had so much passion and want
to be there, that the energy there was just incredible.
Like I just couldn't believe it.
- You really arrived at Billy Elliot
when you were a kid from the ballet world,
since you didn't necessarily arrive on Broadway
as like, someone who dreamt of being in a Broadway musical,
did the movie West Side Story mean anything to you,
the original?
- Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I remember when I was about 13 years old,
I saw West Side Story on Broadway
and I just remember having this feeling that,
one day, maybe I'll be able to do a show like this.
And it's crazy that, you know, 10 years later,
I'm not only doing the show, I'm doing the movie for it.
So it's just, it's crazy.
- You've actually seen the movie.
I'm very jealous of your brain because you can actually
picture what it looks like in your brain.
(chuckling)
You've seen it. What are audiences in for?
What did you really love about the finished product?
- I think one of the things I loved the most
about it was how powerful the message was.
The message of love and not giving into fear and hatred.
And that message is so strong in the movie night.
I'm really happy that that's what I think
the audience is gonna to take from it.
- And you've got to work with Ariana DeBose.
Broadway's Ariana DeBose, is your Anita,
but did you guys have an immediate chemistry?
- Oh, absolutely.
I think from the callback, we both felt this incredible
chemistry and I think it's cause we're kind of
polar opposites and we balance each other out.
And I think working with her was just an incredible
experience on...
She brought me up, we got the best out of each other out.
- There are actually two Tony winners
in West Side Story, the new movie.
It's not just you (laughing)
because Rita Moreno is also in the film.
What was it like getting to know her?
- I mean, I remember looking at Rita and talking with her
and just thinking this woman is a master in her craft.
She knows what she's doing.
And when you see this movie, you're gonna realize
how truly incredible she is.
And I think...
She inspired not only me,
but the entire cast every day when we were there.
- You also enrolled in the army.
- Yeah.
- After high school, a lot of performers would look
at that and go like, wait, what?
- Yeah.
- Can you talk a little bit about, sort of,
what that experience, how it's maybe helped you
in the bigger picture of life and your career.
- Yeah, I think to be an actor or just to create,
or be an artist in whatever you're doing,
it's good to kind of understand the struggles that everyone
goes through in life so that you can use some of that
to create whatever it is that you wanna create.
So for me, it was kind of a way to step out
of this bubble so that I could see the world for what it is.
And I could come back and share my experiences.
(upbeat music)