That there is a genuinely Latin American flavour to the new production of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's 1957 musical West Side Story - currently showing at Manchester's innovative Royal Exchange Theatre - is a testament to director Sarah Frankcom's obvious commitment to making this Romeo and Juliet-inspired tale of doomed love relevant to a new generation of theatre goers.
While the 'boy meets and falls in love with girl from boy's enemy tribe' theme is a storytelling staple, Frankcom brings the story bang up to date - leaving the audience in no doubt that intolerance, gang violence and inevitably, knife crime, are worryingly close to home as they were on the streets of New York's Upper West Side less than a decade after Americans of all colours fought together during World War II.
The tension between two gangs (the Jets, made up mostly of the sons of white(r) first generation immigrants and the Sharks, predominantly composed of young Puerto Ricans) is observed helplessly by Tom Hodgkins's benign seen-it-all-before drugstore proprietor and - more worryingly for younger audience members - by Jack Lord's racist cop, Lieutenant Schrank.
The mutual disdain is clear from the slow burning opening number which sets the scene with a brooding portent of the inevitable, against Anna Fleischle's minimalist set design.
Both gangs are uniformly dressed - by Polly Sullivan - in 1950s inspired costumes with everyone kitted out in converse style trainers which surely makes the exuberant dancing much easier on the company.
The show features new choreography for the first time since the original work opened and while the big numbers are enjoyable, it is the surprisingly poignant encounter between Jet leader Riff (Michael Duke) and Bernardo, the chief Shark played by Fernando Mariano, that linger in the mind.
Each actor combines the right amount of swagger and self belief with a semblance of affection for their families - both blood and chosen. It reminds us - fleetingly - why gang culture can seem so attractive. As one character says early on, "Without a gang you're an orphan."
The UK-based Mexican actress Gabriela Garcia (who recently featured on the cover of LatinoLife) stars as Maria, a young girl newly arrived from Puerto Rico who is being lined up by her brother Bernardo as a potential bride for his young protege.
Garcia, who trained in England at the Arts Educational Schools, first rose to prominence following her standout performance in London a couple of years ago as Nina in In The Heights, an early work from Lin-Manuel Miranda who worked on a Broadway revival of West Side Story which, like this production, features quite a lot of Spanish, and who went on to write the hit musical 'Hamilton.'
The seven-sided RX theatre is a masterpiece of modern theatre design with clear views from all the seats which makes for an intimate theatrical experience - especially good if you like being close to the action.
When Andy Coxon's Tony, who has just met Maria at a dance organised to try and help overcome the visercal hatred between two gangs, some might find it cheesy, but Coxon makes it ring true.
Both Coxon and Garcia are well matched. Coxon's vocal range is perfectly suited to Sondheim's music and an excellent foil to Garcia's operatic style of singing which is more than strong enough to stand up to the technically brilliant (but occasionally over amplified) music coming from the Pit - for this production located in an acoustic cabin just outside the auditorium - under Mark Aspinall's baton.
In addition to the brilliant ensemble performances from the company - and a scarily realistic looking fight - there are several standout musical moments; Garcia's rendition of 'I Feel Pretty' and, perhaps the musical's best known number, the song 'America' which is staged here as a difference of opinion among the Shark girls led by Jocasta Almgill's feisty Anita (excellent as a woman torn between her loyalty to Bernardo and sympathy for Maria's plight).
But on the night I saw the show, the moment my heart skipped a beat was when Emily Langham's Anybodys - sang 'Somewhere'.
The decision to give her the opportunity to open the number was inspired; for the duration of the song, in a theatre which 20 years previously had been virtually destroyed by an IRA bomb representing desperation, hate and vengeance - in a city determined to show the world that it will continue to rise above the attack on concert goers less than two years ago - the audience collectively held their breath at the beauty of it.
I can't have been the only one who heard it as a plea for a place of greater safety for all those who need a refuge from the ills and intolerances of the world. It was my defining theatre moment of the year so far.
West Side Story runs at the Royal Exchange Manchester until 25 May. The run has almost sold out, however a few tickets may be available and the production will also run from 18 April-23 May 2020.
For more information call the box office on 0161 833 9833
www.royalexchange.co.uk
