Maria ( West Side Story ) - wikipedia Maria ( West Side Story ) Maria is the leading female character in the film and theatrical version of West Side Story, an adaptation of William Shakespeare 's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Contents 1 Character summary 2 Best known portrayal 3 Songs 4 1961 actress choices 5 In popular culture 6 References 7 External links Character summary Maria is in her late teens when she arrives on the US mainland. Her older brother Bernardo is the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. He has a girlfriend, Anita, who Maria is friends with and looks up to. Maria is eager to start a new life in New York, but Bernardo is protective and keeps a close eye on her. He intends for Maria to marry his friend Chino, but Maria is uninterested. She meets Tony who used to be part of the Sharks ' enemy gang, the Jets, at a community dance at the gym. They immediately fall in love. The couple meet several times after ( on her balcony, at Anita 's shop, and at Doc 's, Tony 's workplace ) before deciding to run away together after the rumble. They are about to leave when Chino shoots Tony for killing Bernardo. Whatever happens to Maria after Tony dies is left a mystery. Maria is based on Shakespeare 's Juliet, who falls in love with Romeo after their first encounter, just like Maria did with Tony. Best known portrayal The best known portrayal of Maria was by Natalie Wood in the 1961 film, although the singing voice was provided by Marni Nixon. Songs The songs sung by Maria include : `` Tonight '' sung with Tony. Tony visits Maria on her balcony after the dance they had met at. The song acknowledges their new relationship : `` Tonight, tonight / It all began tonight ! '' `` I Feel Pretty '' is sung with Maria 's co-workers ( except Anita ) in the dress shop. The song is about Maria feeling pretty, as well as `` dizzy '' `` witty '' `` charming '' because : `` I 'm loved / By a pretty wonderful boy. '' After the girls leave the shop, Tony meets Maria there, and they sing `` One Hand, One Heart. '' This is sung after they pretend to get married. `` Now it begins, Now we start / One Hand, One Heart. / Even death wo n't part us now. '' The Quintet is a medley that the Sharks, the Jets, Anita, Tony, and Maria sing in. Tony and Maria sing a continuation of `` Tonight. '' `` Somewhere '' is also sung with Tony. He returns to Maria 's house after he killed Bernardo at the rumble. The song represents their decision to flee from the city to : `` Peace and quiet and open air '' `` A Boy Like That / I Have a Love '' is sung with Anita after she discovers that Maria was with Tony after the rumble. She tries to convince Maria to find another love, but Maria fights back with : `` I have a love and it 's all that I have / Right or wrong, what else can I do ? '' In both the film and the play is a song named `` Maria '', which is sung by Tony in both. He sings this right after he meets and kisses Maria for the first time. Her name is sung 29 times in total. 1961 actress choices Natalie Wood was not the first choice to play Maria in the 1961 film version. Audrey Hepburn was considered, but she did not take it due to her pregnancy. Like Wood, Hepburn was not Puerto Rican ; she was British, Dutch, and Austrian. In popular culture Maria is referenced in the chorus of the song `` Maria Maria '' by the band Santana : `` Oh Maria, Maria / She remind me of a West Side story. '' West Bank Story, an Academy - award winning short film, is based on West Side Story. The rivalry is between Palestinians and the Hummus Hut stand versus the Jews and the Kosher King stand. Fatima, a Hummus Hut employee, is infatuated with David, a Kosher King employee, who feels the same way about Fatima. Fatima and David represent Maria and Tony. A dance battle movie called Boogie Town is also based on West Side Story. It is set in 2015 New York City where dance battles are illegal. There are two rival dance crews, one led by Jay and the other by Micah. Micah falls in love with Jay 's sister, Natalie, who represents Maria. References Jump up ^ Lawson, Kyle ( 10 June 2008 ). `` 6 / 17 - 22 : Marni Nixon in My Fair Lady ''. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 15 September 2016. Jump up ^ Prial, Frank J. ( 6 March 2007 ). `` Voice of the Many, but Rarely Herself ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2016. Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/tonight-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-feel-pretty-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/one-hand-one-heart-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/somewhere-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/a-boy-like-that-i-have-a-love-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/maria-lyrics-westside-story.html Jump up ^ http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/10/18/natalie-wood-west-side-story-50th-anniversary/ Jump up ^ http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/printable/52107 Jump up ^ http://www.metrolyrics.com/maria-maria-lyrics-santana.html External links West Side Story on IMDb hide Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim 's West Side Story ( 1957 ) Characters Maria Inspiration William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet Adaptations West Side Story ( 1961 film ) West Side Story Suite ( 1995 ballet ) Variations Deaf Side Story ( c. 2002 musical ) Swango ( 2002 musical ) West Bank Story ( 2005 parody film ) Boogie Town ( 2012 film ) Songs Act 1 `` Something 's Coming '' `` Maria '' `` Tonight '' `` America '' `` Cool '' `` One Hand, One Heart '' `` Tonight ( Quintet & Chorus ) '' Act 2 `` I Feel Pretty '' `` Somewhere '' `` A Boy Like That '' Albums West Side Story ( 1957 original cast ) West Side Story ( 1959 Previn ) West Side Story ( 1961 soundtrack ) West Side Story ( 1961 Tjader ) Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein ( 1961 Brubeck Quartet ) West Side Story ( 1962 Peterson Trio ) Kenton 's West Side Story ( 1962 Kenton ) Toshiko -- Mariano Quartet ( in West Side ) ( 1963 Akiyoshi ) West Side Story ( 1974 Earl Hines ) Related `` The First Time '' `` Upper West Side Story '' Wild Side Story China Girl `` Roses '' Play It Again Josh Superjail ! Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_(West_Side_Story)&oldid=842277186 '' Categories : Romance film characters Musical theatre characters Fictional Puerto Rican people Fictional immigrants to the United States Fictional characters introduced in 1957 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 21 May 2018, at 12 : 08 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who falls in love with maria in west side story
Answer: Tony