There’s a place for us: Cody Rogers as Tony and Rebekah Hernandez rehearse a scene from “West Side Story,” the Maui Academy of Performing Arts production opening tonight at Maui Tropical Plantation. SKY BARNHART photo

The New York City tenement is raw and gritty— all iron fire escapes, brick facades and concrete. It’s a place of prejudice and intolerance, where dangerous emotion could erupt into violence at any time. But, wait a minute, is that a palm tree waving through the back window? “It’s the streets of New York City meets Maui,” says Carolyn Wright, director of programs for Maui Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA). We’re standing on the sprawling lawn of the Maui Tropical Plantation on a sunny afternoon, watching rehearsals of “West Side Story.” Breezes waft from the lush valleys of the West Maui Mountains behind us, setting the palm trees to swaying. The little green tram trundles past, full of happy visitors on a tour of the plantation. In the midst of this idyllic scene, the tenement set looks stark and skeletal — but there’s a reason for its bare-bones appearance. “When they told me the show was going to be outside at Maui Tropical Plantation, the first thing I said was: ‘The wind!’”