Arthur Laurents, RIP

[dirac]

Arthur Laurents has died at age 93. What can you say? He lived a long, full life and takes a big chunk of American theater history with him.

Openly gay and a noted liberal with fiercely Left-wing views, Laurents was known for saying exactly what he was thinking. It was he who persuaded Robbins to drop his original concept of casting the opposing factions in West Side Story as Roman Catholics and Jews, and Bernstein against his idea of setting the show in California. Laurents insisted that his own experience of Puerto Ricans in New York would stamp the action with unmistakable authenticity.

Quotes from friends and colleagues.

Freddie Gershon, a longtime friend and the CEO of Music Theatre International, which licenses the Laurents properties West Side Story and Anyone Can Whistle:

"I felt privileged to spend time with Arthur and have him call me his trusted friend, share heated badinage and listen to stories of worlds gone by.....of Yul Brynner, Ingrid Bergman, Helen Hayes and the origins and making of 'Anastasia,' 'The Snake Pit,' 'The Way We Were,' 'The Turning Point' and more — and who the characters really were based on. He had great stories of tennis with Charlie Chaplin, life with Farley Granger and mostly Tom Hatcher. He had a disdain of phonies and an ability to out-Machiavelli the most manipulative of stars, producers and studio executives. His economy of words cut to the chase in plays, musicals, and in life. He could be brutal, venomous and unforgiving if necessary and nurturing, seductive and compassionate when necessary......

[dirac]

Another obit, illustrated with a photograph of Rodgers, Laurents, and Sondheim while the three of them were working on 'Do I Hear a Waltz?'

A small, elegant man, open about his homosexuality once the climate was right, Laurents had a fine opinion of himself, much of it justified. But he could be scathing about his colleagues. He described his erstwhile collaborator, Jerome Robbins, as a "monster" and said David Hare's play about the Iraq war, Stuff Happens, was "a paste job". When British director Sam Mendes revived Gypsy in New York in 2003 with Bernadette Peters, Laurents so disliked the production that he sent Mendes a stream a critical notes, alleging that Mendes did not have Gypsy in his bones.

[richard53dog]

Arthur Laurents has died at age 93. What can you say? He lived a long, full life and takes a big chunk of American theater history with him.

Your comment pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? I enjoyed reading Patti LuPone's comments on Laurents in her autobiography, particularly her recounting of their "making up" that facilitated the Gypsy revival with LuPone a few years back.

[bart]

Laurents was been deeply protective of his achievements and insistent on being recognized for his input into collaborative projects, even when overruled by his collaborators.

I was especially happy to see the flowering of his work and reputation during his last decade. In his case, being the only survivor of his generation of musical theater geniuses brought more than the usual amount of blessings. The revivals of Gypsy and West Side Story allowed him to re-write performance history in his own way. (The RIGHT way, at last, Larents would have insisted.)

It's the kind of opportunity that few of us, musing about the possibility of surviving into our late 80s-early 90s, would even dream of.

[dirac]

Laurents was been deeply protective of his achievements and insistent on being recognized for his input into collaborative projects, even when overruled by his collaborators.

Laurents was a screenwriter as well as a playwright, so it's hardly surprising that he was a doughty fighter in the credit wars. And if you were a book writer you’d be “deeply protective,” too, especially with Jerome Robbins around. The writer of the book often has the most thankless of the major creative roles involved in making a musical.

Nor is it especially surprising when collaborators disagree. I once read a joint interview about the making of “West Side Story” given by the Four Horsemen and nobody could agree on anything.

At least it means that although Laurents is gone, he leaves plenty of his opinions on the record.

[dirac]

I enjoyed reading Patti LuPone's comments on Laurents in her autobiography, particularly her recounting of their "making up" that facilitated the Gypsy revival with LuPone a few years back.

I've been meaning to read that. I hear it's good. Laurents' own autobiography, "Original Story By," is great reading.