West_Side_Story

West Side Story Contrast of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story Essay written by: thevshuhaslanded 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 origin! al Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke and Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy west, side, shakespeare, romeo, juliet, story, tony, love, maria, both, between, dance, time, one, just, characters, two, tonight, own, bernardo, upon, unique, schrank, scene, role, robbins, riff, relationships, racism, modern, lovers, 25, versions, tybalt