 |
Kathmandu Tuesday December 05, 2000 Mangshir 20, 2057.
|
Rato Bangla portrays the land of opportunities
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Dec 4 - Living in the United States, the land of opportunities,
could be a dream of all, specially the youths from the third world countries. But the
lives of immigrants in that glittering country could turn into a hell, as it happens with
the youths of West Side Story.
The recent presentation of Rato Bangla School has a story something like
that. It is all about street gangs, fights, prejudice, racism, and intolerance to
immigrants. And who suffers are those youths, roaming around the streets in search of some
blessings.
As one of the interesting songs of the musical play says: "Life can be
bright in America -- If you can fight in America. Life is all right in America--If
you’re a white in America", this is a saga of the unfortunate immigrants from
Puerto Rico, who become victims of the unwelcoming and intolerant attitude of the
‘native’ Americans.
A group of Spanish-speaking settlers, the Sharks have to undergo a tough
rumble with the earlier immigrants of European descents, the Jets for survival. They reach
to the extent of taking one another’s lives but at the same time young hearts fall in
love too, regardless of the never-ending enmity. And the unwanted consequences follow --
just to keep the ball rolling.
The troupe of actors and actresses, comprising of the school students, did
their best to feed the audience with light, symphonic and fast-paced musical environment
though the easy-going story has a bitter truth and mark-on-the-stone reality to
illustrate.
The play was written in 1954, when the Puerto Rican immigrants to US
increased. But even after half a century, the trend is still increasing. It truly depicts
that the life of an immigrant in a developed country like US is not necessarily a bed of
roses.
Kushal Regmi and Kreepa Shrestha were the key characters in the play. The
play was directed by Chris Masand and choreographed by Biswabandhu Ghimire.
Other Stories
|
