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In the 1950s, Romeo and Juliet received a retelling in the form of a musical. Although the foundation of the story remains the same, the differences in the storyline do play a significant factor in the way the story is perceived. Here is why:
Musical
'West Side Story' by: Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim
Synopsis
West Side Story is a musical created by Jerome Robbins with music composed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. It officially became a musical on Broadway in 1951 before it was remade into a musical film in 1961 and, again, in 2021.
It is one of the more well-known retellings of Romeo and Juliet as it explores the same storyline and overall message, however, it is portrayed through different versions of the original characters, as well as a different setting.
West Side Story takes place in New York City during the 1950s in which two notable gangs are—and have been—rivals for years. The Jets, who are a gang of Caucasian individuals, and the Sharks, who are a gang of Puerto Rican individuals, represent the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues in the original story. The story depicts the love of Tony, who was once a Jet, and Maria, who is the sister of the Sharks' leader. The musical uses music, dance, and singing to explore an updated version of Romeo and Juliet.
Audience
Primary audience: Musical Theatre Fans
Being that it is a musical, it is probable that the main audience would be musical theatre fans, specifically fans of Broadway productions. This musical is very similar to many other well-known musicals that have been presented on Broadway, which makes it a suitable watch for those who are fans of dramatic performances that incorporate song and dance into the piece.
Secondary audience: Teenagers (and parents)
Since the musical has been adapted into films that can be watched in typical movie theatres, another main group of audiences would be teenagers. The 2021 film, specifically, was adapted by Disney and is rated as a pg-13 type of film. As a result, a secondary audience would likely involve teenagers—and probably a couple of parents as it is likely that young teenagers are still heading to the movies with their parents—because the film revolves around the same teenage protagonists that the original Romeo and Juliet play does.
Also, the musical is known for exploring more modern/contemporary social issues such as racism and gang violence, making it a reasonable film for coming-of-age teenagers and young adults.
Point of views
Modernism
This musical adaptation of the play toys with a more modern point of view over the original conservative one. This is mostly due to when the musical was created (the 1950s) which is a lot more relevant than the Elizabethan era. However, it is also more modern in the way that the social issues resonate more with the society in which we live today. For example, West Side Story deals with gang violence and racism as the main conflict of the story, whereas the main conflict of the original play and the ballet is simply the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. The musical variation also elaborates on the feud, giving it updated names and more context for their rivalry.
The Jet and the Sharks are enemies due to their different ethnic backgrounds. The storyline of the musical revolves entirely around achieving gang territory and explores the ideas of racism and stereotypical thinking.
Therefore, despite taking the original plot of Romeo and Juliet in its original format of a play, the story of West Side Story explores more modern issues and contributes to the different interpretations of the audience.
Codes & Conventions
Different Styles of Music
As discussed in the analysis of the ballet version, music can play a vital role in the way in which a story is told. Unlike the ballet version, however, which highlights mostly classical music with the main set of instruments being strings, the musical version contains a variety of different musical styles. From jazz to Latin and classical music as well, West Side Story portrays its version of Romeo and Juliet with a lot more drama and exaggeration. The varied styles of music toy with tempo in order to portray the feel that the scene is meant to present to the audience. Especially since the story is set in New York City, a completely different continent than the original setting of the story, American pop culture and the music industry do play a role in the storytelling of this tale. As a result, the different styles of music in the musical version of Romeo and Juliet help create a more diverse portrayal of the characters as not only does the piece touch on topics like racism, but its inclusion of different music styles helps emphasize the authenticity of different communities living in New York City.
Song Lyrics
Song lyrics are typically used to increase the emotional depth of the meanings of regular words. Although the original play also uses language to tell the story, the musical adaptation uses lyrics to set the scene in a more emotional and imaginative way in the sense that the lyrics use a lot of imagery. The original play is written as a blank verse which means that the objective is not to rhyme the last word(s) of each line. Instead, the lines are metered, and Shakespeare was known for writing in iambic pentameter; this was no different for Romeo and Juliet. However, West Side Story uses the composition of songs, a lot of which are meant to have rhyming phrases, catchy tunes, and repetition, in order to create rhythm in the story.
Updated Version
West Side Story takes the basis of Romeo and Juliet and modifies the characters and settings. For example, the main characters of West Side Story are Maria (a version of Juliet) and Tony (a version of Romeo). The musical also takes place in a little suburb in New York City, which is considerably different from the original city of Verona in Italy of the original play and the ballet.
Changes in Message
This musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet differs from both the original play and the ballet because it uses one significant element to convey its message that differs from the other two: lyrical song. Essentially, the use of song and lyrics of West Side Story combines the music of the ballet and the language of the original play to convey the same message to the audience.
West Side Story takes the foundation of the themes of love and tragedy explored through the original play, and then adapted to the ballet, and adds to it in a completely different setting. Since the musical is set in New York City, the conflicts in the musical are more relevant in America such as gang violence, prejudice, and racism.
Furthermore, the ending of West Side Story is considerably different from the ending of the original play. In the musical, only Tony dies while Maria lives on. This is an important factor when understanding how different mediums can affect the message of the piece. The Western film industry is a lot more known for its 'happy endings' and this is reflected through the decision of the American directors, writers, and production crew of this musical to alter the ending of the story.
As a result, this medium changes the interpretation of the main message as it emphasizes emotions through song and lyrics and touches on very sensitive topics in today’s society over traditional feuds regarding power and title in the Elizabethan era.
Balcony Scene
The musical version of the balcony scene uses song and music to establish drama in the scene. By listening to the singing and the music that accompanies it, it is possible to distinguish the different tempos and dynamics that the instruments play in order to convey the message of the scene.
It is also important to consider that even though this scene is technically on a balcony, it is a much different balcony compared to what Shakespeare had in mind during his writing of the original play. This balcony reflects the modern period that the musical is told in instead of a balcony on a castle during the Elizabethan era.
Here is the balcony scene in the 2021 West Side Story musical.
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