He’s the menacing gang leader who fights, frolics and finger-snaps his way through "West Side Story”: That’s Riff, the frontman of the Jets, who commands a cadre of lost boys in their turf battles against the Sharks, and takes center stage in numbers such as "Jet Song” and "Cool.”
In Steven Spielberg’s remake, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, the role of Riff is played by Mike Faist, a 29-year-old veteran of the New York stage. Faist earned a Tony Award nomination in Broadway’s "Dear Evan Hansen,” where he originated the role of the title character’s would-be friend, Connor Murphy; he also performed in "Newsies the Musical,” understudying its hero, Jack Kelly.
Despite his theatrical pedigree, Faist says it was not so easy to keep calm and collected for this "West Side Story” — he did not necessarily think he had the required dancing skills and wasn’t sure of the project’s intentions.