West Side Story was filled with many social issues such as prejudices and stereotypes. The issues like women being in the home and interracial issues was taking place during this time period. The tension of between the Sharks and Jets adds more drama to the musical. These different aspects adds with the telling of plot to the audience and makes it many people favorite musical. The love between Maria and Tony is forbidden as seen as in Romeo and Juliet. Maria is Puerto Rican and tony is a Polish American. Since them both come from different backgrounds society during this time period they cannot be together. It was against social norm to have interracial relationships. I like this piece of the play because it shows that love conquers all. The scene where tony and Maria meet for the first time is very dramatic. The music is loud and everyone is dancing fast. The lighting also helps with adding the drama to it. When Maria and tony make eye contact it becomes black. The spot light is focused on them two and they become the center of attention. They dance slowly and it becomes intimate. As soon as …show more content…
Being a part of a group makes us feel purposeful. This is why people join gangs. Gangs become a family for most people. In the musical the storyline is focused on the Sharks and the jets. The Sharks is made up of Puerto Ricans. The Jets are made up of white Americans. Adding the gangs makes it more of a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet. Adding the gangs also adds the sense of violence. For example, Riff cold not see past hate. Riff eyes were filled with hate that people died. If he could for one moment open his eyes he would see what he was doing and how it was wrong. Both gangs are trying to prove that they are the better gang. Being orginally from New York I can relate this aspect of the play. Being able to experience the emotions of anger and sadness like characters this has deepen my appreciation for the