Student Blog: Everybody Loves Shakespeare! (Whether They Know It Or Not)

Everyone is always shocked when I say that I love Shakespeare. I understand it’s not every day that a high school student willingly decides to read and perform Shakespeare, but for me, it seems normal. I have always been a Shakespeare fan even from a young age. I immediately fell in love with his iconic storylines and characters when I was gifted a copy of “Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare” in fourth grade. 

I have recently realized that many people both in and outside of the theatre community have been fans of work inspired by Shakespeare's plays without realizing it. Shakespeare’s plays have been the inspiration for many beloved movies and musicals. So, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite movies and musicals that use the plot of various works by William Shakespeare. I encourage you to check out this list and see if you’ve been a secret fan of Shakespeare without even knowing it!

West Side Story (1957)

One of the more widely known Shakespeare-inspired pieces on this list, the Tony Award-winning musical West Side Story takes the plot of Romeo and Juliet and sets it in 1950s New York City. With music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the musical features two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, taking the place of the Montagues and the Capulets. Instead of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story tells the tale of the star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria. While there are some slight differences in the West Side Story plot, many similarities to the original Shakespeare play can still be found. 

All Shook Up (2005)

The Elvis Presley jukebox musical All Shook Up utilizes themes and tropes from two different Shakespeare plays to create its charming plot. To begin, All Shook Up takes inspiration from Twelfth Night for the main plot of the musical. To get close to the new guy in town, Chad, Natalie dresses up as a man and calls herself “Ed.” This closely reflects how Viola dresses up as a man to be hired by Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night. In both the play and the musical, love triangles evolve as Natalie and Viola try their best to stay undercover. All Shook Up also takes a few pages out of Romeo and Juliet’s book as a forbidden romance buds between Lorraine and Dean. Lorraine and Dean attempt to run away from their families in a final attempt to be together, similar to Romeo and Juliet. 

Once Upon A Mattress (1959)

While significantly based on the classic fairytale “The Princess and the Pea,” the Tony-nominated musical also uses a key plot point from Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. In the play, Bianca is not allowed to wed until her older sister Kate is married. Similarly, in Once Upon A Mattress, Queen Aggravain has ruled that no one in the kingdom is allowed to wed until her son, Dauntless, is married. Queen Aggravain makes it exceedingly difficult for Dauntless to get married, just as Kate makes it nearly impossible for a man to marry her. 

Something Rotten (2015) / & Juliet (2022)

For these musicals, it is quite difficult to miss Shakespeare’s influence on the plot. This is because Shakespeare is featured as a character himself in both Something Rotten and & Juliet. In both musicals, Shakespeare is portrayed as a popstar-type personality. & Juliet takes a contemporary look at Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as suggested by the title. & Juliet even features Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway. Something Rotten centers around a playwright trying desperately to compete with Shakespeare during his prime time in the 16th century. 

Honorable Mentions

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) - Taming of the Shrew

She’s The Man (2006) - Twelfth Night

The Lion King (1994) - Hamlet

Kiss Me Kate (1948) - Taming of the Shrew

Get Over It (2001) - A Midsummer Night’s Dream