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 in touch with Bernstein, who had returned to New York. When the producer of "The Painted Veil" replaced Gardner with Eleanor Parker and asked Laurents to revise his script with her in mind, he backed out of the film, freeing him to devote all his time to the stage musical. In New York City, Laurents went to the opening night party for a new play by Ugo Betti, and there he met Sondheim, who had heard that "East Side Story", now retitled "West Side Story", was back on track. Bernstein had decided he needed to concentrate solely on the music,