... 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 ... but when Romeo and Juliet converse, they speak in sonnet form. Throughout the dance at the gym in West Side Story, both of the gangs" members dance a mambo, but Tony and Maria dance a cha-cha. ...

• Word Count: 1642
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... between the success of "Strictly Ballroom" and "Romeo and Juliet" entitled "Lost Lake", created with composer Felix Meahger. This was quickly followed by Dance Hall a large-scale musical event staged at Sydney Opera house. His latest work is the up and coming "Alexander the Great" to be released ... line is thin and simple. 3) The world created is one of heightened reality. 4) There is a specific device driving the story, whether it be dance, iambic pentameter or characters bursting out into song. These devices are most obviously noticeable in the three films I mentioned previously. These...

• Word Count: 2477
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... of Luhrman because he is trying to modernise the original setting without losing the feeling of an open and busy area. A market square in modern America would be very strange. In the Zefferelli version, the director has tried to replicate the setting and atmosphere of the original, using a typical ... rivalry doesn't seem to be as serious or intense as we see in the Luhrman version. One impressive point that Luhrman has integrated into the modern version, without altering the script is this; In the original/Zefferelli script/picture, Benvolio says "Put up your swords", then the character...

• Word Count: 5983
• Approx Pages: 24
• Grade Level: High School

... love story of the two young lovers into a "summer blockbuster." No pun intended. Adding to what some have called a MTV style of movie, Luhrman's modern theme did not derail the moral of the story. The movie begins with a local news anchor as the narrator, reporting the deaths of Romeo and Juliet while ... at all. If I was asked to rate this party, I'd label it "PG-13." Romeo first lays eyes on Juliet when she is on the dance floor dancing in between two men. Romeo stares into her eyes with hopes of establishing the ever so effective "eye- contact" manevour. Juliet, as she ... . A very ...

• Word Count: 2104
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the most famous duplications of this play. Although the two versions differ, many of the characters have similarities. West Side Story's Tony, Maria, and Anita portray modern day characters of Romeo, Juliet, and the Nurse. "Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why then oh brawling love, oh, loving ... to the Capulet ball, he is going to see Rosaline, not to help set up a fight like Tony is doing when he goes to the dance to help Riff out. Both Romeo and Tony try to stop the fight between their respective sides, but both end up killing someone instead. When ... One of the larg...

• Word Count: 835
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

West Side Story In West Side Story, themes of love, tragedy, and justice are brought to life in dance, song, and music. Leonard Bernstein created a musical based on the Romeo and Juliet story. This updated version is set amid a turf war of two ... rival street gangs in New York City. The hostility between the Jets and their Puerto Rican rivals, the Sharks, is a modern day counter play of the feud between the Capulet and the Montagues from Shakespeare's play. In this heartbreaking tale, Tony, one of the Jets, and Maria, the sister ... of Bernardo, meet at a dance and immediately fall in love....

• Word Count: 571
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... death-marked" lovers (Shakespeare 1). Throughout the play as a reader it is sensed as well as assumed that the hatred between both families goes back centuries. The modern movie version of the play, Romeo and Juliet, differs from Shakespeare's play in setting and clothing, how the characters meet, how the lovers take their lives, ... an example of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. The story takes place in Verona, Mantua. Baz Lubrmann sets the modern day version William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Verona Beach, Florida in a modern day society. There are many different settings a...

• Word Count: 1093
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... have serious meaning in this play. Fate is the main reason why Romeo and Juliet ended up as a tragedy and not with a happy ending. In the modern world most people chose to believe that they have a sense of responsibility and can control their own lives but, during the Elizabethan England period some people believed ... their parents strife- When Romeo and Juliet first meet it is at the Capulet party. If Mercutio had not encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet dance, the couple would never had met and their deaths would have been averted. At the start neither one of them know who the other ...

• Word Count: 3341
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School

... . His Romeo and Juliet released in 1996 is a unique adaptation of one of William Shakespeare's finest plays. The classic love story is set now in modern Verona beach stays true to the original text. The film really brings light to how fantastic Shakespeare's plays are and many would agree that it does him ... to your fire," this means that both families are fuelling the conflict to get worse. When they are fighting this whole scene is choreographed like a dance it makes it more interesting to watch and it is unusual rather than watch yet more boring fight scenes that have been in films fo...

• Word Count: 2038
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School