In 2009, Arthur Laurents, one of the original creators of West Side Story, decided to update and redo the 1950s musical. One of the ways in which he wished to go about this was by making the show bilingual, in order to present the Sharks in a more truthful way (Cohen). 

Laurents asked Lin-Manuel to do the translation of West Side Story, and Miranda called it “the hardest bilingual crossword puzzle [he’s] ever done” (Cohen). During the previews of this show, they kept the translated music, such as “Un Hombre Así” (which translates to “A Boy Like That”), but before opening on Broadway, they cut the translations, ridding of most of  Miranda's work on the project (Herrera 232). That being said, even when just doing translation work, Miranda continues to display his values on stage and through his music. His help in the adaption of this musical allowed for a more genuine and less white-washed version of West Side Story to exist, even if it was just only in previews.