-October 21 and 22.

Bermuda thrilled to the sound of Broadway at the weekend when Two Island Productions staged its eagerly-awaited inaugural show. The wait -- and all the hype -- turned out to be more than worthwhile, with a line-up of talent that was surely unique for Bermuda. "It can't get much better than this'' was probably the thought that occurred to most people as the evening unfolded, but, amazingly, it did, with a quite glorious array of songs, not a few of them performed with that rare kind of artistry that sends shivers down the spine.

Originally planned as a big, `one-off' celebratory concert at Dockyard, bad weather forced the entire show to be moved inside to City Hall.

Undeterred, Saturday night's madly enthusiastic audience was clearly in party mood, cheering their heads off before the revelry even began.

Fortunately, the cast more than met expectations, setting a dazzling standard which meandered happily through favourites old and new, which included `West Side Story's' Tonight Quintet, the romantic hits of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the sophistication of Stephen Sondheim and the nostalgia of the `golden age' of the American musical, when Rogers and Hammerstein reigned supreme.

Two Island Productions, a non-profit theatre group, was recently formed by local resident Iva Peele, Sheryl Kaller (director) and singer Beth Dunnington, all of whom trained together at Emerson College in Boston. Their aim is to establish a `hands on' collaboration between the islands of Manhattan and Bermuda. This concert showcased the talents of both, and if New York inevitably walked off with the honours, the locals certainly made a valiant showing. These New Yorkers were not, after all, popping up from the back rows of the chorus (in itself an achievement in that city), but acclaimed artists with more than a few leading roles and `Tony' nominations between them.

While this show underlined the fact that Bermuda has perhaps more than its share of talent for such a small island, it also pinpointed the absolute necessity for good technical training that envelops not only voice technique, but nuances of diction, grooming and presentation.

In a masterstroke of directorial understatement, Sheryl Kaller had her cast, casually positioned about the beautifully lit stage, stepping forward, stars and novices, in ones, twos and even sixes to sing the songs of, and pay homage to that `Great White Way'. And how superbly they had been rehearsed by musical director Rusty Magee.

Bermuda scored a theatrical scoop as Crista Moore and Daniel Jenkins chose this occasion to premiere numbers from the musical `Big', adapted from the Tom Hanks film, in which they will both star when it opens on Broadway in the spring. The slight-figured, impossibly long-legged Moore, a Tony nominee for her title role in `Gypsy', possesses a very big but beautifully modulated voice which is just as at home in the plaintively gentle `I Know Him So Well' from `Chess', a charming duet performed with Bermuda's Misha Wade.

Daniel Jenkins, another Tony nominee (as Huck Finn in `Big River'), brought that indefinable `star' quality to the stage, even more in evidence when he led the `Big River' medley in the second half of the show.

One of the first great moments of the evening occurred when Beth Dunnington sang Andrew Lloyd Webber's `Tell Me On a Sunday' from `Song and Dance'. This wistfully lyrical number takes on yet another dimension when performed by this outstanding artist who recently sang the role of Papagena in Tom O'Horgan's production of Mozart's `The Magic Flute'. The possessor of an effortlessly high, perfectly honed soprano voice which moves effortlessly through every register, she also revealed a natural gift for comedy in the various Sondheim numbers which peppered the programme.

Another great shiver-inducing moment occurred when Michael Leslie's magnificent bass voice reverberated through the theatre: he had the audience almost in tears with `Be a Lion' (from `The Wiz'), an exquisite duet between him and Nikki Rene, and swooning with delight as he rumbled through `Old Man River'.

Sal Viviano is also a star-quality tenor in the `romantic lead' tradition, the high spot for him, perhaps, being his rendition of `Music of the Night' from `Phantom'.

In an evening where just about every number wove a mesmeric kind of charm over the audience, it is difficult, and maybe even churlish, to pick out the many highlights. It would probably be safe to say, though, that the excerpts from musicals by Sondheim were a revelation. Always a performer's composer, these professionals obviously have a very soft spot for his brand of genius and this was nowhere more apparent than in the glorious sestet from `A Little Night Music'. Mozartian in its brilliant `conversational' harmony, this cast's exemplary diction was sheer delight (local Mark Hamilton held his own extremely well in this piece).

Then there was the excerpt from Sondheim's `Company', where Beverly Crick confirmed her natural gift for comedy. Wayne Holt, recently arrived on the Island and whose splendid tenor voice was perhaps the biggest surprise of the night from the local point of view, gave a thrillingly professional interpretation of Sondheim's `Pretty Women' in yet another wonderful duet with Michael Leslie. There was an audible gasp from the audience as Holt ripped into `Oklahoma', leading the cast in an exhilarating tribute to Rogers and Hammerstein.

That this artistic collaboration was both genuine and generous was confirmed again and again, in both the selections and the singers chosen to perform them. Although the beautiful and talented Nikki Rene starred in `Once On This Island' she backed Patricia Pogson in `The Human Heart' and Ginea Edwards in `Mama Will Provide' (the gifted Ms Edwards will be singing this in Patricia Pogson's forthcoming Jabulani production of the musical). Ms Rene's great moment in an evening of impressive artistry, came in the haunting `I Dreamed a Dream from `Les Miserables'.

All in all, a night to long remember and, hopefully, an occasion when this was indeed "just the start of something new.'' PATRICIA CALNAN CRISTA MOORE -- Theatrical scoop.