I would look heavily into the Black and White lighting design debate presented here, on Pro-Sound's old lighting network
http://www.prosoundweb.com/community/forum.php?board=4 and the further debate presented on
http://forums.delphiforums.com/lightnetwork/start
to see the debate on the subject presented. There was a wealth of ideas presented on the subject already and lots of very interesting concepts for doing it. I would also try to directly contact the origional poster on all three forums who promessed to post his results but never did. Stagecraft will also have further info on ths subject. Very interesting design statement and huge thing to pull off on stage. I did a similar effect once with going incandescent plano convex and got the grainy amber directional image I wished for and was very satisfied.
All this said, my design was unique to my own design image of the show. Since you have not seen the movie yet (what's the world coming to), you might consider waiting to see the movie until your production is done. This will preserve your artistic statement of what you design as opposed to what someone else designed. Sure if doing West Side Story you can watch the movie and view pictures of what others have done with it, but is what you than implement really your design or an abomination of someone else's statement if not art? Are you doing paint by numbers or are you doing art might even be the debate.
In my opinion, you already have a concept and vision for what you want to do, why do you need to muddy up your own artistic statement with what someone else has already done in the production? As a definate design statement, perhaps it might be of interest to skip watching the movie and present what you see as design as opposed to what someone else does. This in the program would even be worth a side note in the production. Yes, your education is so poor you did not see the movie, but it's theater is covering that base - donate to us instead. Than in doing origional art, you have based the design off both your own and the director's artistic concept and it's not trying to recapture what was presented in the movie. If you are successful in design, than it's all you as opposed to if you are successful after having seen the movie, it's part you but a lot you copying what the movie did.