A full costume rack hangs in the middle of the men's dressing room at Theatre Memphis. On either side, bare-chested young actors preen in front of lighted mirrors, getting ready for the evening's performance.

Their reflections double the volume of exposed skin in the room, which in turn accentuates the division in the cast.

Chris McCollum (from left), Jesus Pacheco and Jared Johnson are members of the Sharks gang in Theatre Memphis' production of "West Side Story," directed by Mitzi Hamilton.

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Theater critic Christopher Blank reviews two plays, "Orson's Shadow" at the Circuit Playhouse and "West Side Story" at Theatre Memphis. Watch »

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The guys on the left are white as cream. The guys on the right are darker: black, Hispanic and maybe a suntanned Italian.

In the multihued arts community, it's unlikely a cast would separate along racial lines. But then, the seats were assigned by director Mitzi Hamilton, in a mild form of creating racial tension.

And so they sat apart during rehearsals.

They didn't learn each other's names until recently.

Onstage and off, they are Sharks and Jets.

It's been five decades since "West Side Story" made its remarkable debut on Broadway, reframing Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" as a turf war between rival New York gangs.

Yet Hamilton, who has staged some of Theatre Memphis' biggest hits in recent years ("Cats," "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "A Chorus Line" among them), has found the classic musical the most difficult directing job of her career.

"I feel like I've only scratched the surface," she said before Tuesday's preview. "Usually I like to sit the cast down at this point and tell them to relax, have a good time, it's not brain surgery. This time I had to say 'Guess what? It is brain surgery.' This is such a masterpiece."

Injecting a constructive form of racial stress is just one challenge the director had to address while staging the production, which she says is faithful to the Broadway version by director and choreographer Jerome Robbins.

"We discussed race openly," she said. "Somehow you have to explore it. This show is about black and white, love and hate. You can't ignore it."

But the greater problem -- the one that caused opening night to be pushed back a week -- was finding enough non-white actors to put on the show.

"West Side Story" requires a large number of young men able to sing, act and dance. On top of that, half of the men and women should bear at least passing resemblance to Puerto Ricans.

And that amuses some of those cast as Sharks. Because, what does a Puerto Rican look like, exactly?

Jesus Pacheco jokes that he was probably typecast as Bernardo, leader of the Sharks.

What type is that? "The very ethnic type," he says.

Pacheco's parents were born in Mexico of French, German and Spanish ancestry. He calls himself a European mutt, reared in Texas.

He doesn't see the part of Bernardo as a handout to someone of his complexion, but a dream role for a performer of his ability. Pacheco is a professional ballet dancer expanding his repertoire to include acting and singing. He was among the few male actors cast in the first round of auditions.

"Mitzi gave us the biggest compliment the other day," Pacheco said. "She said 'You guys look so iconic.' And it wasn't because of our skin color but because we finally captured the whole spirit of the 1950s 'West Side Story.' As an artist, that tells me that we've all been working on the same goal."

It wasn't until three weeks into the six-week rehearsal that enough male actors were found to put on the show.

"They miraculously appeared," Hamilton said. "Some were home from college. Some were recommended by friends. In the end, I think I lucked out."

-- Christopher Blank: 529-2305

'West Side Story'

Opens tonight at Theatre Memphis. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through June 29. Tickets are $28 adults, $15 students with ID, $10 children. Call 682-8323.