可乐视频

PRLS Professor Emerita Virginia S谩nchez Korrol (educator, historian, and author)

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

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 Chair of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at 可乐视频 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 version.

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

Monday, September 20, 2021

The Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies presents 鈥淲est Side Story Reimagined鈥� by Maestro Bobby Sanabria鈥攑ercussionist, seven-time Grammy nominee, and director of the Multiverse Big Band, one of the world鈥檚 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 Virginia S谩nchez Korrol and Professor Mar铆a E. P茅rez y Gonz谩lez.

Tony Kushner (playwright, author, and screenwriter)

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Pulitzer Prize, Emmy, Tony, Obie, and Olivier Award鈥搘inning writer Tony Kushner responds to impromptu questions about his role as the screenwriter of the West Side Story (2021) film directed by Steven Spielberg. Co-hosted by Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Professors Virginia S谩nchez Korrol’ 60 and Mar铆a P茅rez y Gonz谩lez, he answers inquiries about authenticity, his writing process, and how to make the 鈥渨riting table鈥� larger. This is a must-see genuine conversation for anyone interested in West Side Story, the arts, Latino studies, the humanities, and social sciences.

Ernesto Acevedo Mu帽oz (educator, author, and director)

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

The Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies presents 鈥淎 Conversation with Dr. Ernesto Acevedo-Mu帽oz鈥攅ducator, author, and director鈥攚ho 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 2021 version directed by Steven Spielberg.

Co-hosted by Professor Emerita Virginia Sanchez Korrol and Professor Mar铆a E. P茅rez y Gonz谩lez.

Professor Juan Gonz谩lez (broadcast journalist, author, educator, and activist)

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Professor Juan Gonz谩lez (Democracy Now! TV news co-host and Rutgers University professor) discusses what life was like during the premiere of West Side Story聽and the immediate time afterward. He served as Belle Zeller Professor at 可乐视频 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 New York in relation to West Side Story is invaluable.

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

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Victor 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 Operaci贸n, Congratulations Mr. Gonz谩lez!, The Stockroom, and TITA (The Animated Series). He served as one of the dialect coaches on the 2021 version of West Side Story 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!

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

Monday, December 6, 2021

Jeanine 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 professors Virginia S谩nchez Korrol and Mar铆a P茅rez y Gonz谩lez.

Steven Spielberg (film director, producer, and screenwriter)

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Serving as an incredible finale to its months-long unique cultural and educational series, West Side Story: The Brooklyn Connection, the college鈥檚 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 Mar铆a P茅rez y Gonz谩lez and Professor Emerita Virginia S谩nchez Korrol, who were both instrumental in creating the PRLS West Side Story series, centering on the 10-time Academy Award鈥搘inning 1961 film and its connection to the new film, produced by Spielberg, Tony Kushner, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Kevin McConnell, and Rita Moreno.

鈥淲e 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,鈥� said Mar铆a P茅rez y Gonz谩lez. 鈥淭he entire series has been an incredible success, and this was the proverbial icing on the cake.鈥�