Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Features Two OU Alumni

When legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” premiered in December, the familiar story featured a bit of Oklahoma in 1957 Manhattan. The modern retelling of the classic musical features two University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts alumni.

Eloise Kropp and iris menas (’12, BFA), both former students in the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre, landed roles in the Spielberg production.

Kropp plays the role of Jet girl, Dot. On Broadway she has starred as Ruby in the musical "Dames at Sea," played Jennyanydots in the musical "Cats" and was featured in the stage revival of "On the Town."

“I have known Eloise since she was 9 years old,” said Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre dance professor Lyn Cramer. “She is without a doubt one of the strongest and most talented dancers and performers I have ever worked with, and I am particularly proud of her leading role on Broadway in ‘Dames at Sea.’ It was a true joy to watch her, and I was overwhelmed with pride.”

menas (’12) plays the role of Anybodys who tags along with the Jets. In their recent Broadway debut, menas played in the musical “Jagged Little Pill.”

“iris was outstanding as Diana Morales in ‘A Chorus Line’ – their performance insightful and genuine,” Cramer said. “Directing them in that production was certainly one of the highlights of our collaborations.

“I am thrilled that they are working with a film master like Steven Spielberg. Knowing that dance is integral to the story just adds another dimension to the emotion.”

“Musical theatre is an American art form.”

Ashton Byrum, director of the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre, is thrilled not only that Kropp and menas are featured in the film, but that the musical was adapted for the screen by the legendary director.

“It’s a huge deal that a musical has been remade by Steven Spielberg,” noted Byrum. “‘Hairspray’ and ‘Chicago’ both did really well at the box office and that's good news for our students.”

Byrum noted the OU program which trained Kropp and menas ranks among the best in the country. He credits its success to the passion of its students and faculty.

“One of the things that I really believe in, and one of the things that makes our program special, is that we teach because we love it,” Byrum noted. “To model that, and to share in the joy of that, is the greatest privilege. And what a gift, right? Because yes, it's a ton of work, but it's what you love. It makes all of that worth it to watch a student rise to that level of success.

“Part of the reason that (students are) here is because film is accessible,” Byrum added. “Not everybody lives in a big enough city for Broadway tours to come through. Because of movies, there's going to be a six-year-old saying, ‘I want to do that,’ who otherwise would never have seen anything like that.”

Byrum also noted that both musical theatre and “West Side Story” share a common trait.

“Musical theatre is an American art form,” he pointed out. “It's from our country. It's influenced from other places, but it's something that the American creative mind came up with. If you can go see something that's one of the best pieces of American musical theatre, one of the best pieces of American art, then it's just incredibly important and it's something that we can all be proud of. It’s also an American story, right? Immigrants coming to our country to make things better and make a better life for themselves.

“It's just something for all of us. It's fun for the whole university to celebrate – it's amazing,” Byrum added. “And we get to say, ‘Look at these two students that were here and now they're doing that.’ It's impressive.”

You can still catch “West Side Story” (2021), which has received high audience and critical praise, in theaters near you, but if you would rather stay in, the film will be available to stream on Disney+ in February.

This article was originally published by the OU Foundation.

Article Published:  Wednesday, February 9, 2022

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