Stephen Sondheim regretted the original song's lyrics. For the revamped film, Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner came up with an ingenious solution.
How do you solve a problem like Maria’s “I Feel Pretty” number from “West Side Story”?, who wrote the lyrics for the musical, regretted his sprightly wordplay shortly after the song was put into the show.
The very question of what does or does not seem appropriate for Maria and the other Puerto Rican characters is itself a matter of controversy. “West Side Story,” a 1957 Broadway classic created by four white Jewish men who were artistic trailblazers, has been criticized for racial stereotyping.
In the original musical, “I Feel Pretty” was written to be sung at the start of the second act. The first act ends with the rumble between the Jets and the Sharks that leaves two gang leaders dead. When the curtain rises on the second act, Maria is at home with her girlfriends, unaware that her beloved Tony has killed her brother, Bernardo, after Bernardo killed Tony’s best buddy, Riff.
A beloved show tune, “I Feel Pretty” has never lacked for champions. Carol Lawrence, who originated the role of Maria on Broadway, said that she “loved the number,” despite it being Robbins’ “least favorite” in the show, because for him “it dealt with the inane behavior of a young woman in love.” Apart from Bernstein’s “beautiful music,” she said, “It was a fun, wonderful moment” in a show not full of lighthearted scenes.
Maria tries on a scarf that’s too costly for her meager salary. The dazzle of the floor displays inspires her to adopt an air of debutante frivolity. Sondheim’s sparkling lyrics, which some find incongruously Cole Porter-ish, are motivated by the pageantry of retail seduction.
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