Arthur Laurents Pity Thread- Page 3

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:29pm

I'm not trying to be rude, but it's bordering on the psychotic.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:30pm

No, I agree with you. I respect PJ, but I really think he needs to let it go. I am so tired of reading the same stories over and over again, lol.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:39pm

I like PalJoey's stories and just see it as his way of offering proof as to why Arthur Laurents isn't particularly liked.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:45pm

WAT, there's at least two of us on this board. I loved WSS too! Even with all the changes made (I personally loved the Spanish!) it's still WSS to me.

Updated On: 5/6/09 at 01:45 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:48pm

But there's no proof of his claims (and actually no claims of anything actually been done to him, just poor Gretchen Wyler) and if someone were to slag someone he DOES like, he'd be the first one to lead a crusade against them.

I also question who decides which people are above reproach and which aren't. You hear stories of the atrocious way Robbins and Bennett treated their dances, but we revere them.

Is part of it the fact that when it comes to a musical, the book writer is the easiest forgotten and/or maligned of the collaborators?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:57pm

Thank you, beltingbaritone! I'm sure there are more of us out there, but people are probably afraid to state an opinion different from the masses in fear of getting attacked.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 2:01pm

Not I! I loved WSS!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 2:03pm

LOL...I was not Arthur's "gofer."

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 2:37pm

I'm not even a member of the "IN-" crowd on this board, and I knew that PJ wasn't AL's anything, least of all, gofer.

And, we should treasure people who "were there" and have first hand accounts of important theatrical history; frankly, PJ's accounts don't seem particularly distorted by his experience to me; they pretty much match my own experience of AL.

And PJ is one of the least vindictive, counter-attacking posters in this thread -- talk about pot calling the kettle black.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 3:20pm

WAT, do you really enjoy Arthur's direction of the finale? Do you think it's an improvement on Robbins'?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 3:39pm

I've never seen the original staging...this production was my first exposure to WEST SIDE STORY...and yes, I loved the finale. It gave me chills all four times. Josefina's acting was superb. I really felt her pain when Tony got killed.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 3:50pm

"I've never seen the original staging...this production was my first exposure to WEST SIDE STORY"

Oh, wow...now I totally understand. I can't at all blame you for your feelings about this production. I'm almost a little jealous that I'm too familiar with it to enjoy this production to the level you can.

But Arthur made some very strange directorial choices, and while he didn't ruin the show (not possible with WSS), IMO, his directing took away from it, and is not up to standards with what past productions have been.

But don't let that ruin your enjoyment, really. I hope one day you'll get to see a production that lives up to the full potential of the show, but in the meantime, I'm so glad you're enjoying this one.

And LJ, there are plenty of us, myself included, that have never had any personal experience with Arthur, that just simply dislike him for what I believe to be poor directing of this revival.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 3:54pm

You can pretty much see Robbins's staging in this clip from the movie, WAT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJqk3ymr4e8

Note the moment at 5:35 when Tony's lifeless arm slips as the Jets are lifting him and two Sharks run forward to help.

The poetry and drama in that one moment is the simple genius that was Jerry Robbins.

Updated On: 5/6/09 at 03:54 PM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 3:56pm

::wishing youtube wasn't blocked at work right now::

[LadyDramaturg2]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:05pm

Note the moment at 5:35 when the arm of Tony's lifeless arm slips as the Jets are lfting him and two Sharks run forward to help.

The poetry and drama in that one moment is the simple genius that was Jerry Robbins.

Yes yes yes. WAT, go home and look at this -- this is a perfect example of the contrast between what is and what might have been.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:15pm

Yeah, but even the movie doesn't give you the full original direction. Of course carrying Tony off is the most important part, but god, I *love* that the curtain goes down on the 4 adults, just staring at everything, completely clueless and helpless.

Here I go repeating myself but just can't help it...it's more than just the poetry of the moment, it's friggin common sense. Think of every tragedy -- something good comes out of the deaths and suffering. The families make up in Romeo & Juliet, the war ends in Hamlet, Thebes no longer suffers from the plague in Oedipus, etc. But in this production of WSS, there's no "something good." The whole thing just becomes pointless, and boy, does taking out the nightmare add to the pointlessness.

[keithp]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:16pm

Gretchen Wyler
I am not going to wade into the AL debate though I suspect that he was a deeply unpleasant man, However, Wyler, as seen on Broadway The Golden Age, was hardly feeble.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:39pm

That 7 minute clip from the movie had more emotion in it then the entire present revival of WSS X 10.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:48pm

Other than the film and the OBCR this was my first exposure to WSS. But my sentiments are the same as many others. AL made strange choices and didn't direct his cast to work at the full extent of their abilities.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:53pm

I would have to say "bordering on the psychotic" is bordering on the hyperbolic. I like PalJoey's posts on this because they are funny. They are punchlines. They employ the creative use of humor.

I will read each and every post of his on this subject and I will laugh out loud over the funny ones.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:56pm

It's all fun and games until someone mentions a chorus boy.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 4:58pm

I'm afraid I don't really understand that reference.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 5:01pm

That's cause PJ gets those comments deleted.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 5:03pm

Yes, he's very powerful.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 5:09pm

I probably just imagined it, then. Sorry to have ruffled your feathers yet again!