Did the American author Arthur Laurent write Westside Story 40 years ago to put Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet plot, written in 1595, in a more contemporary jacket? Maybe so, and may be he did it to give it a wider appeal. In any event, Westside Story became very popular as Leonard Bernstein's musical, a classic in its own right, also as a Hollywood movie production. My parents' generation seemed to love it and it became a huge success.

as published in 1599, now almost 400 years ago.

Anyone who has read both "Romeo and Juliet" and "Westside Story" would be able to tell that the plots of the stories are very similar. First of all, both stories start off by introducing two rival groups. In Romeo and Juliet's Prologue, the author describes two households, "both alike in dignity" but with an "an

He forewarns that before it is over, somebody will get hurt if the two gangs can't come to an agreement. These characters are moderators and forces of peace.

In each story, the main characters pronounce their love for one another from a highly visible and therefore dangerous location. Romeo climbs up to the balcony of Juliet's house, a courageous act, and there they pledge their love for each other. Tony climbs up the fire escape ladder where Maria is waiting on a platform between two flights of stairs. At that moment, in both stories, there is someone calling the ladies (Juliet and Maria), telling them to come inside. In Juliet's case it is the nurse and in Maria's it is her father. Are such vast similarities a mere coincidence?

I conclude that Laurent could not have improved on Shakespeare's classic love story. He used the similar characters to tell the same story. He has taken Shakespeare's plot and characters and placed them against the backdrop of Manhattan's skyline. The characters are no longer Italians of Verona's elite class, but they become gang members from New York's streets. Did he popularize Shakespeare's work? May be for a while, but Romeo and Juliet still today is the best known written love story. The Westside Story movie became very popular in the sixties. The music is still liked by many people. However, a recent film version of Romeo and Juliet proves that the original can be a box office hit today too. Somehow I think that the original will survive longer than Laurent's copy.

as the 1599 title page illustration shown earlier in this document.

The way in which the main characters meet one another is very similar. In Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers meet at a party thrown by Juliet's parents, the Capulets. Members of the Montegue household are not invited of course, but Romeo gets in, wearing a disguise. In Westside Story, Tony and Maria also meet at a party, in their case a gang dance. There is an instant "love at first sight" in both stories, but it is a forbidden love, a dangerous situation because of the rivalry between the two groups. When Juliet is seen dancing and spending time with Romeo, she is warned by her nurse not to stay with him. When Maria is caught dancing with Tony, she is also told not to see him. The key line here is that she should "stick with her own kind", namely immigrants from Puerto Rico. But the main characters of both stories defy such warnings, prepared to sacrifice their own background for their love. They become the champions of love and examples to many of what romantic love somehow "should be".

Obviously, Paris and Chino are parallel characters. In Romeo and Juliet, Paris is engaged to Juliet, an arrangement arranged by the parents. In Westside Story, Chino is Maria's boyfriend, and it would have been very proper for Maria to marry him, at least based on the opinion of her "own kind". In both cases the two girls don't really like these "arrangements", and so as both stories are written, the girls find someone else as their real great true love.

As much as Romeo and Tony are alike, so are Juliet and Maria. They both have the attractiveness that any man would like to see. They also have both been brought up in very sheltered environments, thei

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Approximate Word count = 2185
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)