While the choice of such a difficult musical served to emphasise the ambitious nature of the company, the all-round excellence of the singing, dancing and acting provided testimony of the genuine talent the company possesses.
This is, after all, a musical which has been a world-wide success since it was first performed on Broadway in 1957, and a musical which gained a scoop of Oscars when it was made into a film in 1961.
The fact that Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, no less, made a recording of some of the musical's songs with Bernstein in 1984, pays tribute to the extreme ranges of voice and the level of ability the singer must acquire to do justice to the songs.
While there was the odd slip, the odd struggle to reach the highest of notes, no one in the two-thirds-full audience could really fault the quality of singing from the leading members of the cast. Many older and more experienced performers
have struggled or not even attempted such vocally challenging songs as "Maria", "Tonight" and "Somewhere". Ian MacKintosh conducted the music with style and aplomb, maintaining the perfect mix of edgy urbanity and Latin sound.
Choreography is the other vital element of this musical. The fight scenes in particular were very well choregraphed and the propulsively rhythmic movement, which is essential to reflect the fast-moving plot, was achieved. Full marks then to Jean Clarke, from the Jean Clarke School of Dancing, who choregraphed the production.
Born in Massachusetts in 1918, the son of a Russian immigrant, Bernstein himself was no stranger to the problems of emigre families in the US in the early half of the century. The musical is set on the violent streets of Manhatten's West Side, where two rival gangs are determined to impose their authority on what they consider to be their turf.
White and of European origin, the Jets consider themselves to be "Amercian". The Sharks are dark-skinned Hispanics, mainly of Puerto Rican descent.
The plot follows the path of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where feuding and violence between the two rival families, the Capulets and Monatagues, is de rigeur.
Tony, played by Marnix van Der Kraan, meets Maria, played by Lucy Davies: a classic case of boy meets girl. Of course, Tony is a Jet and Maria, even if only by association, is a de facto member of the Sharks.
Tony, who has fallen in love with Maria, tries to stop a fight and ends up unwittingly causing the death of his friend, Riff, as he distracts him. In rage he kills Maria's brother Bernado.
While Maria can forgive Tony and they promise to escape toegther, the Sharks are out for revenge. The outcome can only be a tragic one.
Tony was played with passion and force, while Maria had the required recherche. Both characters were acted with good, convincing accents, a feature which ran throughtout the cast.
However, the best actual acting perfomance of the evening was by Paula Taylor, who played Anita. Miss Taylor was outstanding. She was both charismatic and charming as the lively Latino confidant of Maria. James Masterson, as Action, Rebecca Fryer as Anybodys and Richard Cowan, as Chino, all deserve a mention for the quality of their performances.
The higlight of the singing was, perhaps, the performance of "Maria", sung by Mr. Van der Kraan, and the moving duet "Somewhere", when he was accompanied by Miss Davies, who was equally impressive with the solo "I feel pretty".
As for the music, "America" proved to be as popular as ever, and Mr. Mackintosh did a splendid job of keeping the syncapation at the correct tempo.
Tickets have completely sold out for tomorrow (Saturday) night's performance, but there are a few tickets left for tonight's (Friday) penultimate performance, which begins at 7.30 p.m. Telephone (01260) 280863 for details.
Cast
The Jets: Marnix van Der Kraan, as Tony; Andrew Bours, as Riff; James
Masterson, as Action; Martin Beck as A-Rab; Tom Odell, as Baby John; Tom
Mellor, as Snowboy; Chris Bagguley, as Big Deal; Daniel Masterson, as
Diesel;
Micheal Stanley, as Gee-Tar; Neil Yates, as Johnnie; Rebecca Fry, as
Anybodys.
Their girls: Katie Benson, as Velma; Jennie Lee, as Graziella; Emma Barnett, as Minnie; Becky Ward, as Jo-Anne; Sam Ward, as Mary-Beth; Alissa Bagguley, as Frankie; Anna Stratford, as Bobby-Jo; Sarah Wilson, as Lucille; Katie Derbyshire, as Bebe.
The Sharks: Allan Sly as Bernado; Richard Cowan, as Chino; Gareth Castle, as Pepe; Michael Boswell, as Indio; Jonathon Watson, as Luis; Craig Watson, as Toro; Robert Lowrie, as Juan; Andrew Lowrie, as Pedro; Alistair Lee, as Ricardo; Philip Ball, as Esteban; David Pierce, as Pablo; Anthony Burge, as Nico.
Their girls: Lucy Davies, as Maria; Paula Taylor, as Anita; Vicki Bailey, as Rosalia; Vicky Bostock, as Consuela; Emma Tweats, as Francisca; Zoe Dillon, as Marguerita; Sarah Davey, as Gabriella; Vicky Garbett, as Conchita; Charlotte Freeman, as Junaita; Laura Foster, as Rosita.
The adults: Howard Ball, as Lt. Schrank; Reg Tolladay, as Officer Krupke; David Martin, as Doc; Chris Sheard, as Gladhand.
Production team: Yvonne Wilde, director; George Tweats, producer; Ian Mackintosh, musical director; Jean Clarke, choreographer; Rob Glastonbury, chorus master/ rehearsal pianist; Peter Nixon, stage manager; Stan Davies, Geoff Bagguley, Alan Gibson, Sheila Gibson and Julie Turnock as stage crew; Jill Mason, lighting; Jan Bagguley, follow spot; Paul Drage, sound; Diane Tollady, wardrobe; Joy Masterson and Hazel Williams, properties; Peter Nixon and George Tweats, scenery; Katrina Watson, prompt; Dawn Beck and team, make- up; Lorna Jackson, house manager; George Tweats and Enys Hoyle, sponsorship and ticket secretary; Yvonne Wilde and Diane Tolladay, sewing team; Doris Tweats and Marjorie Jackson, refreshments; Brian Jefferson, Marjorie Jefferson and team, front of house.
Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.