RIP Arthur Laurents- Page 3
RIP Arthur Laurents
#50RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 9:44pm
I'm just in shock because I didn't see it coming. Although he was a difficult man to work with, he was a good artist.
Question though: who will now hold the rights to his properties? I'm guessing it will be easier to get some project done now.
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#52RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 9:52pm
Very, very sad to see such a legend go. Say what you want about his demeanor but his work changed the theater world forever.
Updated On: 5/5/11 at 09:52 PM
#53RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 9:54pm
Rest in Peace, Arthur Laurents.
My teacher, my mentor, my friend, my enemy.
Chrysanthemum62001
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/04
#54RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 9:55pmA toast to Arthur Laurents! A man who made our world of theatre a great one.
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
#55RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 9:56pm
It's hard for me to believe that he really has died...
I feel happy for him that he did LuPone!GYPSY before he died.
I wonder how this will affect movie plans (love my insensitivity)
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 5/5/11 at 09:56 PM
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#56RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:03pmBin Laden, Laurents... who will be the third? Gaddaffi?
Twitter @NamoInExile
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husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#58RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:09pmPJ, Have I told you lately, that I love you?
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
#60RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:15pm
RIP Arthur. He gave so much to the theater that I love.
I hope he gets an extended tribute on the Tonys.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#61RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:16pm
Dim 'em?
I think a lot of people would say "Push those dimmers up to FULL."
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#62RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:19pmOnly the good die young...
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
#63RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:22pm^ WINNING!
"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."
NYadgal
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/04
#64RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:33pmThe more I think about this - and think about his work - the more emotional I feel.
"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."
bk
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/03
#65RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:33pm
The really shocking thing, as always, is reading posts about how shocking it is that a ninety-three year old man died. Note to posters: Not shocking. And Mr. Laurents would vomit on the ground if he read some of these "oh, I'm shocked by this news" or "this is so devastating" - anyone who lives and works until he's ninety-three only needs posts lauding that achievement. Certainly posts from people eighty years his junior saying how "shocked" they are by this news is, well, Mr. Laurents would have amusing things to say.
Updated On: 5/6/11 at 10:33 PM
A Director
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/18/07
#66RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:36pm
"He truly shaped our modern definition of theater."
Based on some of the postings, I have to shake my head because the lack of knowledge about theatre history is shocking. Arthur Laurents did not shape our modern definition of theater and he was no visionary. There are many, both living and dead, who shape the modern definition of theatre and were visionary. Laurents never was in their league.
His book for West Side Story is the weakest part of the show. His book for Gypsy is very good. There are many other musicals with good books. His plays are so-so and are seldom revived.
I hope there will be a revival of West Side Story that restores everything Mr. Laurents removed.
Now that he's dead, perhaps people will start talking in public.
If Broadway lights are dimmed, it could be the first time there is a protest.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#67RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:41pmI can think of no more fitting tone than Bruce Kimmel's patented Scolding Schoolmarm (tm).
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#68RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 10:52pm
The really shocking thing, as always, is reading posts about how shocking it is that a ninety-three year old man died. Note to posters: Not shocking.
^This.
Thanks, bk.
#69RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:13pmPerhaps Arthur Laurents isn't THE most influential man in the American theater, but there is no denying that he is up there. He did some awful, terrible things to people and dishonored many of those who we worked with and who were better than him, but he still made a large impact and for that he deserves an honor.
husk_charmer
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/19/06
#70RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:18pmA large impact? Really? A Director pretty much sums up Laurents.
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
#71RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:22pmOkay well we can agree to disagree. I find that Arthur Laurents contributed to shows and productions that were very influential to me as a theatergoer and helped solidify what I want to do in my life. So yes, I find him to have made a very large impact. Like I said, not the largest, but still significant. And that's how I see it. I completely understand what A Director says in terms of Laurents not being a visionary and perhaps that true, but his contributions to the work were important.
#72RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:24pm
Something that is true of a lot of artists is true of Arthur Laurents as well: the man and the art are not the same thing.
I think his contributions are to be acknowledged, treasured, and respected.
That needn't excuse his transgressions as a human being. But his art--his craft, if you prefer--is a different thing.
One man's opinion, of course.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#73RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:27pmSome say Barbara Bush or one of the Koch brothers will be the third death.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#74RIP Arthur Laurents
Posted: 5/5/11 at 11:37pm
RIP Arthur Laurents. Thank you for writing and directing some of the most impactful, important shows of all time. And thank you forever and ever for GYPSY ?
The man just died...couldn't we show a little respect?
"These rabid fans...possess the acting talent to portray the hooker...Linda Eder..." -The New York Times
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