As for his opposite number, Romanian-born Noja, she said: "Everybody identifies the role of Ilsa with Ingrid Bergman. She gave something to the film that none of her American colleagues could give - the European touch of her interpretation."

Asked whether her performance could match that of Bergman, Noja replied: "Only Ingrid Bergman can play as good as Ingrid Bergman! A film is different than a performance. You can watch it and watch it, it stays the same ... only the audience changes. But a live performance has something unique! The emotions, the movements take place only at that moment and in that place. Each performance is a new performance!

"The difficulty of this performance is to bring to the stage my interpretation of the role of Ilsa in such a way that it will stay in the hearts of the audience as strong as the film."

Of the actual role, Noja said: "Ilsa is a beautiful part to be interpreted. She has the ardour of youth, the knowledge of a devoted student and the passion of a woman in love. It is a lot of material to work on."

Besides the strong cast, the crew have much to contribute.

The composer Clyde Allen has done a remarkable job in keeping all the songs and musical material from the original film, including "As Time Goes By," George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine."

In addition, Allen has composed some beautiful original additional music.