Contrast of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story
Essay submitted by Bob Garrard
Three Hundred Fifty Years of Blind Love: A Contraposition of Shakespeare and
Robbins' Romeo and Juliet
Andy Warhol once said, "They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them
yourself." Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere
of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the
story, simply the creators' unique visions evolved. Shakespeare's delivery of the timeless tale of
desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only intensify through retelling and
modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet as one of the most beloved plays of
all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present. Romeo and Juliet have attained the role as the
quintessential lovers, and the noun, "a Romeo," is synonymous with " lover." Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet is closely based on Arthur Brooke's tale, The Tragicall History of Romeus and
Juliet. The language, attitudes, and customs detailed in the play are generally English, in spite of
Brooke's original Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell
Brooke and Shakespeare's romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and
nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer
Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script and book. The love story
proved to have universal appeal throughout all artistic forms, as it had already been adjusted for
opera and ballet. The contemporary adaptation of this timeless classic alters details and deepens
the message of hatred, but maintains Brooke and Shakespeare's vision. The relationships
between the characte...