Since the main work is Jet-biased, this prequel will be Shark-biased in the interests of parity. Act One shows Anita, Bernardo and Chino happily shedding the discontent that defines their less fortunate existence in Puerto Rico as they prepare for their big move to New York. We see the three characters planning their new lives from three very different viewpoints: Excitement, caution, cheerful optimism. The narrative switches to the New York streets, protected by the free-spirited Jets and their equally enthusiastic and gang-committed leader, Tony. In Puerto Rico, the three prospective travellers express in dialogue and song the hopes and promises of a new and better life, and the youthful ambition and confidence they possess to obtain it. In New York, the satisfaction and contentment of a gang on top and in control are also heard and seen in song and dance. Back in Puerto Rico, after a comical treatment of the final preparations for the departure, and the more serious, bittersweet farewells to friends and family left behind, the trip to America is undertaken. The act ends with what should have been the triumphant arrival of Bernardo and company, instead of which, as recorded in the masterwork, he is attacked on the streets of his new home on his first day there.
Act Two narrates Bernardo's meetings and conferences with other transplanted Puerto Ricans, his rude awakening to the facts of life surrounding prejudice, and the simmering tension between the two groups. The golden picture from Act One is quickly tarnished, on both sides. Bernardo's growing hate is balanced by Tony's growing disillusionment. The Jets become more wary of this new threat, tougher and more dedicated than previous rivals (as stated in the masterwork) and their confident autonomy is now in question, a situation met with hearty vocal resentment. Anita continues to be positive while Chino joins Bernardo on the dark side. A ribald number (a la "Gee, Officer Krupke") is sung by the Puerto Rican boys, mocking the Jets as the sons of immigrants and ridiculing their unwarranted bigotry. The sardonic comedy is offset by a more sober incident, such as stink-bombing Bernardo's father's store. Tony finds himself questioning the Jets' agenda of total control at the price of peaceful co-existence with the newcomers. The (obligatory?) second-act Ballet depicts the fantasy of Bernardo's original hopes and presumed prospects, danced in tandem with a harsher picture of the disappointing reality. The narrative winds down on the irreconcilable gap between the two groups and the inevitable escalation of the warfare, converging on the final, dramatic decision of Tony to walk away from the streets, coincident to the arrival from Puerto Rico of the young sister (two events which the playscript - though not the screenplay - states happened around the same time). Tony's disenchantment is once again expressed in song, in counterpoint to an aria of Anita's (elsewhere in the neighborhood) whose determined optimism both negates Tony's uncertainty and puzzlements and also matches his energetic pursuit of the unknown ingredient for a happier life. Rounding out the complement of a future Quintet, an uncertain Riff assumes the mantle, a bewildered Maria steps into a scene that is much darker than the one she was promised, and a defiant Bernardo gives his friends a collective name as the curtain descends. |
