Romeo and Juliet vs. West Side Story

While the two remarkable pieces of theatre are beautiful and have achieved great success in their own right, I have to say that Shakespeare will always hold the highest esteem in my mind.
While West Side Story's jazzy melodies and awesome dances are easy to fall in love with, it lacks the tragic irony that we see in Romeo and Juliet. Where both the lovers murder themselves for love of each other in R&J, Tony is killed by Maria's prospective husband. This adaptation does not follow the thematic thread of true love, as outlined in the play, but is perfect to illustrate the major theme of discrimination in the Musical. West Side was written as a social statement about discrimination and gang war in the 1950s, the additional themes make it arguably a little more layered than Shakespeare's tragedy, which could then be seen as beautiful in it's simplicity.
Romeo and Juliet iconicized the forbidden love scenario that perpetrates our culture and has given us a model of young passion, which so many now compare themselves to. I'm not going to say it was the first of its kind, but it certainly was the biggest.
Romeo and Juliet is also timeless, which gives it an advantage. There have been hundreds if not thousands of different versions. It's ability to adapt to every culture and every period is just one of the many things that keeps it alive. West Side Story does not have this name versatility, the lyrics alone clearly establish the setting. Mounting a production of West Side set in 18th century London would be as difficult as performing "Grease" as cavemen.
Here are two movie trailers for Romeo and Juliet, completely different from each other.