How excited were you to be able to play this role? I was both extremely excited and scared when I got the offer to play this role. Anita is literally the quintessential powerhouse triple-threat role in the musical theater canon. And then pairing that with Rita Moreno [being in the movie], it was absolutely thrilling. And every day was a joy. It’s been really fun and challenging to walk through this journey, but I’m so grateful to be able to be doing it, kind of hand in hand with Rita. She’s been so gracious with me and just really supportive. And I mean, that’s the greatest outcome I could have ever hoped for was to have a lovely relationship with her. How was meeting her and working with her? I was terribly awkward. But she was like, “It’s OK, you need to take a breath.” But one of the days she came to the dance rehearsals in the gym she was like, “Mami, you can dance!” She was just so fun. She brought this playful energy to the room and just wanted to be around and enjoy it with us. I can’t say enough about how much I really enjoyed sharing space with her. While we don’t have many scenes together, when we did have time on set together, she just was the consummate professional. And we would chat every once in a while, but she would give me space for my process and just always let me know that I was supported and if I needed anything, she was there. So when she walks in and says, “Mami, you can dance,” does that take a lot of the pressure off? Oh, yes, it did. It felt like a seal of approval, like a sassy baton pass. I was like, OK, I got this. We’re good. She likes what I’m doing. I feel so honored to be a part of the legacy of Anita. We had Chita [Rivera, who originated the role on Broadway], we had Rita and now I get the opportunity to do my thing with it. And to know that she’s on my side, it means a lot. Did Rita give you any advice about stepping in to make the role of Anita your own? The only thing she said to me was, “I will tell you anything you want to know.” And my response to that was, “I want to know whatever you want to tell me.” And she really just said, “Just do you. Make it your own.” Whether or not I needed it, it was really nice to hear. She gave me permission to just explore and find my own way. She gave me one note that I can’t tell you what it is because if I do then it gives away a surprise. But it was great. The conversation we had around this one moment in the film. She was like, “I wish I’d done this differently. So take this or leave this. If it works for you, great. If it doesn’t, forget I said it.” But I believe it’s in the film. So that’s good. And it was a really good suggestion. Is there anything cool that you learned from watching her work? I think I just really took in how she advocated not only for herself, but for others. She’s very in tune with her process and showing up to deliver. And she was very gracious with everyone else around her within a scene, and I saw how that’s a warm, beautiful quality to have on a set. Any fun facts on how you prepared for the role? I box. I took boxing lessons to prepare for Anita. I know that sounds backwards, but it was really helpful. When you’re boxing, there’s such a strength, and I wanted Anita to be strong, but also there’s like a gorgeous vulnerability within boxing, because at any given moment, it can go wrong. Boxing is a dance as well; it keeps you light on your feet and malleable. But ultimately, it gave me the strength that I needed to sort of make Anita dynamic. I find boxing to be incredibly dynamic in the same way that I wanted this character to come across on-screen. How many times do you think you’ve watched the original West Side Story movie or the play? I saw the revival with KarenOlivo. And that’s the only live production I’ve ever seen of West Side Story. And I probably watched the film at least 50 times. And that was just throughout my childhood. I just really loved it and how you could really see the dancing. They didn’t really cut away from the dancing. You can really see everything that they were doing. It was so dynamic to me. It sounds like Rita has been an idol? Absolutely. She changed the game, for not just me, but for the way Latinos are seen in the industry. And she’s a very daring woman. There was a period of time where she did not work because she stood for her principles, and she was like, “No, I want to play dynamic characters, and I’m going to fight for that work.” And that is probably the thing that makes me admire her most, is that she really fought for what she wanted as opposed to what the industry was willing to give her. So yeah, she is an idol. She’s an excellent idol. And an icon and a legend and I can’t believe I got to make art with her. Did you and the cast ask her a ton of nostalgic West Side Story questions? Rita is very good at holding court. So she creates the opportunity for you to ask the question. I think that’s probably something she’s picked up along the years, that people really do want to hear the stories and we were no different. One of my favorite days was when she came in and had lunch with everyone. And it was just like “Story Time With Rita Moreno.” So beautiful. And she’s a wealth of knowledge, and not only are her stories illuminating, but they’re entertaining, and you’re just like, “I can’t believe you’ve lived through that. You witnessed that. Wow.”
