Romeo and Juliet on screen choreography by Jerome Robbins. Widely admired, and the winner of ten Oscars, the 1961 film of the show – set among New York gangs – does not aim for a realistic portrayal of New York gang culture: in the opening sequence the Jets and the Sharks trade dance-steps instead of blows. The Jets are a gang of white youths, equivalent to Shakespeare's Montagues; the Sharks, equivalent to the Capulets, are Puerto Rican. Unlike Shakespeare who included relationships between his young lovers and the older generation (the parents, and parent-substitutes such as the Nurse and Friar Laurence) "West Side Story" keeps
Romeo and Juliet repeating the same musical theme at the ball, in the balcony scene, in Juliet's bedroom and in the tomb has been used by subsequent directors: for example, Nino Rota's love theme is used in a similar way in the 1968 film of the play, as is Des'ree's Kissing You in the 1996 film. Other classical composers influenced by the play include Henry Hugh Pearson ("Romeo and Juliet, overture for orchestra", Op. 86), Svendsen ("Romeo og Julie", 1876), Delius ("A Village Romeo and Juliet", 1899–1901), Stenhammar ("Romeo och Julia", 1922), and Kabalevsky ("Incidental Music to Romeo and Juliet", Op. 56, 1956).