Bel Canto recreates New York gang war
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
"Now we fought hard for this turf and we ain't just gonna give it up ... The Emeralds claimed it. We shut 'em out. The Hawks, remember, they tried to take it away, and we knocked 'em down to the cellar".
That is dialog from the movie version of West Side Story, dialog full of enmity and determination that describes the turf war between New York street gangs in the 1950s.
This enmity, too, is evident in today's Indonesian society between ethnic Chinese and indigenous Indonesians, between the Dayaks and the Madurese, despite obvious efforts to mask it.
Bel Canto's Johannes Tong will bring these antagonistic feelings to the surface with his rendition of the classic West Side Story, just as Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins brought the play to the public amid the growing street riots by Chicano Americans in Los Angeles.
"The story transcends time, it is also about current issues and very relevant at the present time," Johannes said explaining his choice of production.
"(West Side Story) is not a popular theme, it strives to reveal what we usually hide in the closet ... it's about prejudice," he said at a media conference here.
Johannes describes the production as about all about death, hatred and the urge to kill, "it's not a Cinderella story".
He explained that since the first production, West Side Story was never easy to watch as "there are ugly things that people uneasily relate to".
American music legend Leonard Bernstein together with choreographer Jerome Robbins first showcased West Side Story at New York's Winter Garden Theater in 1957.
The production was also a debut for the talents of lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim.
West Side Story is a modern rendition of the classic Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, with the two opposing families Montague and Capulets modernized into two street gangs The Jets and The Sharks.
The Jets represent second generation Americans from white European migrant families, while The Sharks are newly arrived Puerto Ricans.
Just as in Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story also has two tragic lovers -- Tony from The Jets and Maria from The Sharks -- but unlike Romeo and Juliet, only Tony dies in West Side Story.
"This presents a more realistic edge to the story, rather than having both die and end of story, Maria's grief lives on which makes it even more tragic," Johannes said.
The Bel Canto production will feature the Jakarta Broadway Singers with soloists Lea Simandjuntak and Arthur Sahetapy as Maria and Tony.
Producing West Side Story is not only challenging because of the difficulty in recreating the underlying tensions and hatred between the two opposing groups, but also because these currents have to be presented in the form of dance, song and act.
"It's very difficult to find people who can do all three, dance, sing and act," Johannes said, explaining that for the Blues, Promenade, Mambo, and Cha Cha Cha dances in the performance professional tutor Herry Christ was brought in.
He said that Bel Canto would feature the full-length version of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story but with a more up-to-date style, inserting elements of jazz, R&B, rock and rap music.
The production will be the last on the program for Bel Canto Vocal Music Series 2001/2002.
West Side Story will open on July 3 at the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Dharmawangsa on Jl. Brawijaya Raya 26, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from Rp 125,000 (about US$14.50) to Rp 375,000. For reservations call Bel Canto Productions 021-8316808, fax 021-8310626, or e-mail dorothy@pacific.net.id