e 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 act of Romeo and Juliet, Sampson and Gregory, servants of Capulet, harass Balthasar and Abraham, servants to the Montagues. "I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it," boasts Sampson (I.i.48-50). 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. In no time at all, other Jets, led by Riff, rush to A-rab's side. No words are exchanged between the gangs, since it is, after all, a musical, and they basically just jump around in exaggerated fashion. Nevertheless, the scene, like the opening of Romeo and Juliet, sets the stage for the remainder of the production.
             It is here where Lt. Schrank and his faithful compatriot, Officer Krupke, happen on the scene to break apart a potential rumble just like Escalus, Prince of Verona, did in Romeo and Juliet: "If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace" (I.i.103-4). Or, as Schrank would phrase it, "I got a hot surprise for you: you hoodlums don't own the streets" (Laurents 6).
             Following the altercation between the gangs, it is decided by Riff that the time
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