‘West Side Story’ should have let Anybodys sing ‘Cool’

Welcome to Fix It, our series examining projects we love — save for one tiny change we wish we could make.

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is a sumptuous and beautiful musical adaptation. It has so much to love — from the thoughtful casting, to the formidably talented young ensemble, jaw-dropping cinematography, and heady musical performances. But I came away from it with one nagging qualm: Anybodys should have sung “Cool.”

In almost every West Side Story iteration, including the 1957 stage debut and 1961 film version, Anybodys is written and performed as a tomboy who wants to join the Jets. In Spielberg’s rendition, Anybodys is played by nonbinary actor, iris menas, and the character is depicted on screen as transmasculine. It’s a smart update, especially with trans rights consistently under siege in the present. But not giving Anybodys this song is a huge missed opportunity.

Most of West Side Story‘s songs and beats are predetermined, even with Spielberg and Tony Kushner’s updates to the script and book from 1957. Tony and Maria meet at the dance, the Jets and Sharks rumble, and their fighting creates a cascade of devastation until the end. Yet Spielberg and Kusher’s version is full of wise updates. Rita Moreno plays Valentina, a role originally written as the white male Doc, which proved to be a poignant and effective change. Her heart-wrenching cover of “Somewhere” — formerly a Tony/Maria duet — is arguably the film’s emotional climax, even before the final death.

Giving Anybodys a song would not only push the envelope for transgender representation but also makes narrative sense. The song’s message hits differently coming from someone who knows the value of picking battles and laying low. Imagine if Anybodys were the voice of reason after the rumble — as opposed to Tony, Riff, or any of the others who can barely disguise their thirst for violence — teaching these boys how to be men.

Credit: Niko Tavernise / 20th Century Studios

“Cool” is also a song with precedent for reinvention throughout West Side Story adaptations. In the original stage production, Riff and the Jets sing this song in Act 1 before the rumble. In the 1961 film, Ice and the Jets sing it after the rumble, once Riff has already been killed. Tony already has more than enough songs in his repertoire, not to mention that Ansel Elgort notably struggles to hold his own among the film’s main leads. Giving the song to his character feels downright uninspired.

The easiest argument against Anybodys singing “Cool” would be that the Jets don’t respect him — which happens to be a point this film has no problem hammering home. Most of Anybodys’ screen time is devoted to biting verbal abuse from the Jets. The boys are noticeably crueler than in the 1961 version, their misogyny toward a tomboy now replaced with painful transphobia.

My first note here would be that we could simply cut down on the vitriol. (Even though Ice eventually accepts Anybodys post-rumble, it’s just nonstop abuse until then.) Trans people experience all kinds of daily harassment. West Side Story has the platform to do a lot of good by showing characters accepting and caring for Anybodys, even if they take a little time getting there.

Would it matter if the Jets accepted Anybodys earlier on in the story? It ultimately impacts very little plotwise and would even let him participate in the final act as part of the gang. Maybe Anybodys could stand up for Anita when the others attack her — or still be out stalking Chino from the shadows in his official capacity as a Jet.

West Side Story was produced by 20th Century Studios, now owned by the Walt Disney Company. At this point, it’s fair to say that Disney is notorious for its paltry LGBTQIA+ representation. The company’s pitiful “family-friendly” branding has left it miles if not light-years behind other streaming platforms that regularly depict different genders and sexualities and trust viewers to make their own choices.

As such, the House of Mouse regularly conflates visibility with representation. The former is exactly as advertised: the sometimes radical act of marginalized people simply existing on-screen. The latter requires thought and analysis, putting the characters not only on screen but giving them traits and desires and arcs. Seeing a trans person on TV or in a movie is the first step. You have to also be willing to give them personalities, stories, and purpose.

The thing is, menas and the West Side Story team do appear to have done that. Press materials for the film note menas’ pronouns as well as Anybodys’, with explanations of the character’s gender identity and pronouns. But that attention to detail doesn’t come across on screen. 

It’s a sharp reminder that Hollywood, while moving the needle for minority representation on-screen, too often does the bare minimum and expects praise.

I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement: be the change you want to see and all that, depict the ideal, and let your audience see how easy it is. Cast a trans actor, write a trans character, give them a larger role and show the audience and industry what limitless possibilities there are when we open doors.

I’m thrilled for menas, at the start of a promising career, and for the entire West Side Story team as the film hits streaming and gears up for the Oscars. The beauty of a musical like this one is that we don’t have to wait 60 years for another adaptation. The next West Side Story could be a theatrical revival, a high school production, even a TikTok musical. Maybe Spielberg’s revival has set the stage for someone else to put Anybodys fully in the spotlight.

West Side Story is now streaming on Disney+.