Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim

Quotes from Putting it Together on Arthur:



Sondheim: "And then there was Arthur Laurents. I think he came with Terrence McNally. We all met afterward. I'm not going to go into that story.....he was, to put it mildly, ungenerous about the show. Terrence liked it a lot. But Arthur...."

When Arthur Laurents was on Theater Talk back in 2009, he talked about how Stephen Sondheim doesn't appear to be as excited for revivals of West Side Story and Gypsy as he normally would be for shows he wrote both music and lyrics for. Michael Riedel then asked Arthur if he considered directing any one of Steve's musicals and if he would've been excited about that. Arthur's response was "Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't." @11:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbgYxJnvO9g&t=1261s

Updated On: 10/21/21 at 07:08 PM

Arthur Laurents was an insecure little man. The majority of his Broadway plays did not make it to 100 performances. The Time of the Cuckoo ran the longest with 263 performances. Today, his plays are seldom, if ever, revived.

Yes, he wrote the book for West Side Story, but it's the weakest part of the show. Yes, he wrote the book for Gypsy, but in every production he directed, his goal was to erase the contribution of his collaborators.

IMO, he was jealous of Sondheim's success after they stopped working together.

As for "Mainly On Directing," it should have been called "Mainly Arthur Rants."

joevitus said: "There would be no West Side Story without Laurents, so the idea that his was the weakest contribution is ludicrous. Famous anecdote repeated in various settings:

Man: Steven Sondheim saved West Side Story!

Stranger Overhearing: No, Arthur Laurents saved West Side Story.

Man: (turning to him imperiously) How do you know?

Stranger: Because I'm Steven Sondheim.

I'm not great fan of Laurents, but that is one solid book."

A Director did not say that Laurent’s contribution overall was the weakest. His dramaturgy and his vision, yes that was a huge, huge, huge part of the show’s success. That doesn’t alter the fact that the book as written is the weakest part of the show

I will gladly admit Arthur was often monstrous and a five star bitch, and particularly ungenerous once Steve Sondheim, for lack of a better word, outgrew him collaboratively speaking, but I won’t undermine his contributions to WEST SIDE STORY. It’s not a show I particularly love, but his book is a marvel— packed with action, yet clear and precise. I am not sure anyone writing books to musicals in 1957 could have done that job.


And his pen was aflame writing GYPSY. He never eclipsed that. Sondheim did, and all Arthur could do was shout “for me, for me!” until he died.

TotallyEffed said: "Now I can’t wait to use “five star bitch.” Thank you."

Happy to be of service!

Honestly, that NY Mag piece by Jesse Green is very apt. It’s not a hatchet job, either. None of Laurents’ “victims” air out any dirty laundry, and Sondheim is particularly diplomatic and has remained so, even ten years after he died. It must have been very painful to cut him off after so many years.

Jordan Catalano said: "“Five Star Bitch” : The Arthur Laurents Story"

Credit me in the acknowledgments, darling.

When I watched the Netflix remake of BOYS IN THE BAND last summer, I thought to myself, this must have been what it was like at a party at Arthur Laurents’ house.

Having felt both Arthur's love and Arthur's venom, I can say that the crux of it is in Sondheim's words "Arthur is the master of the imagined slight." SS told once told a group of us that he loved collaborating with Arthur, but that periodically he and Arthur would not speak for several years.

Each time that would happen, Arthur would say it was because SS had said or done "something unforgivable."

"Which is funny," SS said, "since Arthur says and does unforgivable things to people every day."

Updated On: 10/21/21 at 11:27 AM

And as anyone who has spent more than an hour in therapy or psych analysis will tell you, the following quote (from the Jesse Green piece) is supremely unhealthy –– if not uncommon for Laurents' era –– and likely indicates larger mental health issues than just being a narcissistic ass.

even during his time in analysis, he rarely brought up his childhood, despite such ripe figures as an embracing father, a difficult mother, and a sickly sister. “I don’t want to know that maybe there’s something really askew with me,” he says. “It makes it easier to live, I’ll tell you that.”

TotallyEffed said: "Who is she? Who was she? Who does she hope to be?"

Ok "Seek Treatment"

PalJoey said: "Having felt both Arthur's love and Arthur's venom, I can say that the crux of it is in Sondheim's words "Arthur is the master of the imagined slight." Once, in a classroom setting, SS told us that he loved Arthur and loved collaborating with Arthur, but that periodically he and Arthur would not speak for several years.

Each time that would happen, SS went on, Arthur would say it was because SS had said or done "something unforgivable."

SS then paused and smiled ironically. "Which is funny," he said, "since Arthur says and does unforgivable things to people every day.""

Good lord, was Arthur in the room when he said all that?

Oh yes, and there was the article from years ago where he claimed to have entirely fixed WICKED for Schwartz and Holtzman, but no one credits him.

Poor Beni Montresor! He looks like he'd rather be anywhere else but there!