Maria (West Side Story) after he meets and kisses Maria for the first time. Her name is sung 29 times in total. Natalie Wood was not the first choice to play Maria in the 1961 film version. Audrey Hepburn was considered, but she did not take it due to her pregnancy. Like Wood, Hepburn was not Puerto Rican; she was British, Dutch, and Austrian. Oh Maria, Maria / She remind me of a West Side story. Maria (West Side Story) Maria is the leading female character in the film "West Side Story". Maria is in her late teens when she arrives on the US
West Side Story was originally intended for Cunegonde in "Candide". The music of "Gee, Officer Krupke" was pulled from the Venice scene in "Candide". Laurents explained the style that the creative team finally decided on: The show was nearly complete in the fall of 1956, but almost everyone on the creative team needed to fulfill other commitments first. Robbins was involved with "Bells Are Ringing", then Bernstein with "Candide", and in January 1957 "A Clearing in the Woods", Laurents' latest play, opened and quickly closed. When a backers' audition failed to raise any money for "West Side Story" late in the spring of