What would Romeo and Juliet be like if Juliet hadn't died? What if Paris killed Romeo, instead of vice versa? What if instead of occurring several centuries ago, it took place on the streets of New York City during the 1950s, with a bunch of fresh-faced youths posing as street toughs and dancing and singing their hearts out? Well, just take a look at West Side Story, and you will have your answers. It is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not note the obvious major similarities between the two plays. From the opening scenes in both, up through the rumble in West Side Story/death of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the plays mirror each other (Poelstra). It isn't until the last part of West Side Story, where Tony, our modern-day Romeo, dies and Maria, Tony's Juliet, doesn't (unlike the two star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare's work), that the major difference between the two works becomes apparent.
Granted, instead of tension between feuding families, West Side Story offers prejudice between races, as illustrated between street gangs, the Jets and Sharks. Some of the characters in West Side Story are carbon copies of those in Romeo and Juliet: Maria (Juliet), Tony (R
. . .
let me have a dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear as will disperse itself through all the veins that the life-weary taker may fall dead . The tomboyish Anybodys, a Jet wannabe, would best fit into the role of Balthasar (although Doc's character fits into this role marginally as well), since it was she who aided Tony in escaping after the rumble, which resulted in the deaths of Riff and Bernardo, as well as later informing the other Jets that Chino, the Paris of the Sharks, had a gun and was hunting down Tony. In the opening scene of West Side Story, several Sharks, the Puerto Rican gang led by Bernardo, harass A-rab (notice the similarity in name to Abraham), a white dude, a Jet, and therefore, an enemy of the immigrants.
West Side Story allows the basic elements of a story four centuries old to be retold in a fairly modern-day setting (after all, street gangs are more prominent now than ever before). 140-3)
Bernardo orders Maria to go home, after which he approaches Tony, who is still intoxicated by the lingering image of his new-found love (Laurents 35).
Tonight, tonight,
The world is wild and bright,
Going mad, shooting sparks into space. In both instances, the young romantic lead tries to talk the others out of harming one another. Just as they are about to embrace, a shot rings out, and Tony falls via Chino's violent hand, Maria catching him as he stumbles (Laurents 141).
Approximate Word count =
1973
Approximate Pages =
8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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