Gang violence in New Tripoli seems pretty far fetched but last weekend two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, went head-to-head on stage in Northwestern Lehigh's production of "West Side Story."

Each time, the four performances of the classic love story brought the audience to its feet in the sold-out auditorium.

But before they could tackle the script, the actors had to understand their characters and the gangs to which they belonged.

"West Side Story" takes place in New York during the mid 1950s, a time period to which veteran actor Dylan Rex could relate.

"I like the leather jackets, sunglasses and motorcycles," he said. "I always wanted to do 'Grease.'"

Rex played Riff, the leader of the Jets and a street punk always looking for a fight.

He described Riff as "somewhere between Danny Zucco (played by John Travolta in "Grease") and Marlon Brando in "The Wild One."

Riff was his favorite role because of his bravado.

"I like how he acts around the gang and how he acts around Tony," Rex said. "He always seems like he has something to prove."

That description could also apply to Action, another member of the Jets, played by junior Alex Bobbyn.

"His name is Action because he's always looking for a fight," Bobbyn said. "It isn't until the end he realizes what really happened, after he'd lost his two best friends."

Bobbyn convinced his fellow football players to try out for the play.

"I knew the story line and I knew we needed guys, so I thought the football players could do it," he explained. "I told them 'West Side Story' would be something good, something new. If they would try out, they could check it off their bucket list."

Bobbyn was right.

The Officer Krupke number, which featured Bobbyn, Mac Storm (Diesel), Alec Fixl (A-Rab), Kyle Steeber (Baby-John), Devon Devers (Snowboy) and the rest of the Jets was wildly applauded.

"The football players added to the entire production," said Kurtis Reif, who starred as Tony. "They added the physical element to the play that would have been missing.

"Looking back, it's no longer the artists and the jocks. The play unified the two groups."

But unlike the Northwestern scenario, the Jets and the Sharks are never unified.

Instead, the rival gangs' hatred escalates, ending in death on both sides.

"In the city, there are tons of gangs and they sometimes turn to violence," said first time actor George Haddad, who starred as Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. "But, I'm sure there are people in these gangs who want to get out. [In West Side Story] the fight scene is the biggest thing. Next thing you know, we're dead."

Even Maria and Tony's love cannot overcome the hatred between the two gangs, though the two long for a time and place where they could be together.

Reif described Tony as "a romantic [who's] living in a dream world. [Tony] doesn't see a flaw in anyone or anything, but believes 'everything's going to be fine.'"

Kayla Olsen, Tony's love interest in the play, said Maria "doesn't fully understand how naïve she is. She's the beautiful innocent who everyone aspires to be. But everything gets corrupted and the world is cruel…" and the two lovers are forced to face the harsh consequences of prejudice and gang violence.

For Northwestern students, playing gang members was quite a leap, but members of the cast prepared for their roles in their own way.

"I had to do a paper one time and I did mine on method acting," Rex said "In method acting, you have to relate. If you had to cry, you have to remember a time when you actually cried.

"It's not like I just said the lines. I went more in depth."

Rex said watching the actors Marlon Brando and Al Pacino helped him with portraying Riff.

"I knew the movie and I knew the entire play," Reif said. "I researched it on line, too, things like how to die effectively on stage, but the part I had to prepare the most was my voice. That's where my voice teacher comes in and a lot of hard work."

Reif said Leonard Bernstein is his favorite composer.

"I'm reading an analysis of Stephen Sondheim's lyrics and I understand where he's coming from," Reif said.

Bobbyn said he is not an angry person by nature.

"So, I had to seclude myself so that I could go to that place," said Bobbyn, who played the aggressive Action.

Haddad said he was shocked when he got the part of Bernardo.

Ironically, Haddad's father played Bernardo when he was in high school.

"My father did it when the movie first came out," Haddad said. "He gave me pointers, telling me to project my voice and not be quiet."

To create a more ethnic persona, Haley Smith wanted to affect a Spanish accent so she could sound more like her character, Anita.

"My mom is an ESL teacher in Allentown and she works with an aide who is Puerto Rican, so I went through my lines with her and she showed me how to tweak them," she said.

Olsen also thought understanding the culture was important for making the characters more believable.

"I've never actually seen the show, but I'm pretty much in tune with Latin things from taking Spanish class and having friends," said Olsen. "I think it's a very colorful, energetic and fun culture. There's a greater sense of family and community."

Individual cast members faced several challenges in the weeks before the play debuted.

For some, the dance numbers put them to the test.

"We're supposed to look like we're fighting, so I got used to fake fighting, but the jazz splits are the hardest," Rex said. "After we did those, my whole leg was sore. I also had to sing and dance, so I tried to reserve my energy."

Reif agreed with Rex.

"Dancing is the most challenging. I'm not a dancer," he said, though he had to learn two dances. "My rule is to look confident. At the rumble, I had to get mad, [but] I still wanted to stay in character."

Smith, who was nominated for a Freddie last year for her role in "Barnum," said she has not done a lot of dancing.

"Anita is so out of character for my own personality. It took a while, to be sexy and confident," Smith said. "Practicing in Brooke's [Novotnak] dance dress helped get me into character."

Haddad admitted at first he "had some problems" having never acted before but he approached it like he approaches "the plays in football."

"It's like having a playbook in front of you," Haddad said. "You picture the action.

"There's a different side to me. I enjoyed making new friends. I'm thankful that I did the play."

Olsen, who had the starring role in Civic Theater's "Alice in Wonderland" last year, had a total of five songs to sing, but her performance showed this was not an issue.

"Basically, this is the 'Romeo and Juliet' story," Olsen said. "You can't help who you love and others need to understand that, so having to connect with the characters at critical points is really important."