Laurents vs. LuPone - does Sondheim have a say?- Page 3

[moljul]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 10:48pm

Ijay, I'm the one who posted the interview on ATC. Here's the section regarding Gypsy.


From Gay City News:

Laurents is never short of opinions and when I asked him if he was looking forward to Patti Lupone doing ‘Gypsy’ at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, he said, “No. She begged me to do it back in 1989, but I wouldn’t let her and cast Tyne Daly. She has no consonants!”


“Neither does Joan Sutherland,” I interjected.


“But she sings opera! Also Patti has no sense of humor. But, do you like any of these revivals? I thought the last ‘Gypsy’ was terrible. It wasn’t Bernadette [Peters]’ fault. [Director] Sam Mendes doesn’t know anything about music.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 10:52pm

He's also known for tailoring his "memories" to make better copy.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 11:24pm

He is a sadist, in every sense of the word, and he has burned every bridge he's ever crossed. He has no friends left, because he ultimately "feuds" with all of them. He will die--unless he truly is one of the undead--rich and friendless, shriveled and alone, like Dickens's Scrooge, only without the redemption in the final chapter.

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/22/06 at 11:28pm

you're gonna tell me that there isn't a clause in Laurent's will abot Lupone never being able to do gypsy

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:05am

"If Laurents does not permit a re-write on Anyone Can Whistle, would it be legal for Sondheim (if he wished) to re-use all the songs in a new piece, which bore a strong resemblance to the original concept?"

What do you think?

In truth, no. "The law provides a presumption that the collaborators intended to create a 'joint work' and that each collaborator, as a joint owner, has an undivided ownership interest in the whole product. That means each collaborator retains an ownership in ALL the elements, not just those to which he or she contributed. If the collaborators...break up for whatever reason...the work already completed...cannot be used again in other ways (such as removing songs to use in a different musical) and the work can't be marketed on an exclusive basis." (STAGE WRITERS HANDBOOK).(Not to mention that Sondheim couldn't give a damn about it at this late date).

Regarding WHISTLE: The piece was ill-conceived from the start and is horribly dated beyond redemption. Trying to resuscitate this show would be putting a bandage on a corpse. Let it go already.


Comptroller Schub
Anywhere, USA

[Zachary Goldfarb]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:28am

MB, didn't Sam Mendes want Patti for this last revival? Wasn't it only after Laurents nixed Patti that Bernadette Peters was hired?

[moljul]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 10:38am

Bernadette was always attached to this last revival. Arthur Laurents was the one who was pushing the production ever since Bernadette's Carnegie Hall concert in 1996. When Laurents approached Mendes about directing, Mendes mentioned Lupone and Laurents said no, he wanted Bernadette. Mendes' reaction was apparently "Is she old enough?" So Patti was Mendes' first thought but Bernadette was essentially cast years before Mendes was even approached to direct. I don't think Mendes came into the picture until about 2001 or 2002. Laurents and the producers had already been working on things including perhaps opening in the West End and then bringing it to Broadway (which I wish they had done).
Updated On: 8/23/06 at 10:38 AM

[LucilleAndLeoFrank]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 11:00am

I thought Laurents originally wanted Betty Buckley, until he saw her in the Paper Mill production and hated her and blocked her from future productions.

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 11:26am

I read through the thread and didn't see a mention of this, and I just wanted to clear something up for myself...do I understand correctly that it's Mr. Laurents' idiotic stubbornness that has been preventing the book of "West Side Story" (the stage show) from making any sense for years? I heard once that, although the entire WSS creative team agreed when working on the film that "Cool" and "Krupke" should be switched, Laurents refused to green light the same change for the stage show despite of plenty of urging to do so. As a result, the show (though still a beloved classic) cannot really be quite the dramatic masterpiece that it should be, with that nonsensical "Krupke" number coming right after two major characters are killed. Is this correct? Does he have any reason for not making the change, other than the fact that he's nuts?

Posted: 8/23/06 at 11:35am

in the book i'm reading, SONDHEIM & CO, Laurents says that the movie was a "turkey" because it didnt follow his placement of KRUPKE.

also Sondheim says that he feels embarrassed of I FEEL PRETTY because the rhymes are too clever for the character.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 11:44am

Someone who wrote in a letter to the editor of The Sondheim Review (I believe it was) said that he always thought that Maria was singing it to herself in her own language, even though we hear it as English. I think this makes sense.

Just a thought.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:17pm

Arthur is still bitter over the fact that Ernest Lehman's screenplay for the movie is a vast improvement over Arthur's book for the stage show.

But it is. It just is.

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:35pm

in the book i'm reading, SONDHEIM & CO, Laurents says that the movie was a "turkey" because it didnt follow his placement of KRUPKE.

Wow.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 12:41pm

I don't get why "Krupke" and "Cool" would be switched. That makes no sense at all. Although I'm not a huge fan of the show, I've always been struck at the placement of "Cool" in the movie and how perfect it is just there.

[Jon]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 1:22pm

The movie switched the placement. COOL is supposed to be sung by Riff at Doc's before the rumble. KRUPKE is sung in Act 2 as a reaction to the police questioning the Jets.

In it's Act 2 placement, KRUPKE becomes a song sung by a bunch of kids who are scared to death. They've just witnessed two killings, and the police are hassling them. They need lighten up the mood. By moving it earlier in the movie, the song becomes nothing more than comic relief - for the audience, not the characters.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 2:41pm

PJ, I know one friend of Laurents as I worked for said person and had to talk to the man on the phone. Lord. The egos. They are perfect for each other and you should have seen them enjoy their mutual misery.

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:15pm

SDav, you really think the book of West Side Story makes no sense?

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 8/23/06 at 3:23pm

SDav, you really think the book of West Side Story makes no sense?

Well, not exactly--I said that more to get my point across that the original placements of "Cool" and "Krupke" were not as inspired as where they were in the film. I love WSS to death, and although I do think it does have its share of "huh?" moments (like "Krupke" after the Rumble), it certainly is no more flawed than any other musical. It is still one of the best, easily. I was just expressing my frustration that Laurents' arrogance alone is standing in the way of what could be a big improvement to WSS's book--yes, I understand the idea of comic relief and I know why "Krupke" was originally placed where it was, but it just annoys me that the film's way was so much better and everyone thinks so except the man who has the power to change it.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:21pm

Arthur Laurents is an ass.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:34pm

Well the fued is officially over, so this thread is ancient history.

[wiggum2]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:38pm

Why is the feud over? Did I miss something??

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:44pm

Well, its not like they had a big reunion party on the corner of Shubert Alley...

But rumour has it that after her triumph at Ravinia, Laurents has given his blessing for LuPone to star in another staging of GYPSY, and that he himself would like to direct her.

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:46pm

OH! Thats awesome!!1 Updated On: 10/24/06 at 07:46 PM

[Julian2]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:50pm

wooOOOoow. This is like, historic or something.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 7:51pm

Early word is that it'll be a series of concerts at City Center sometime next year.