Uh Oh... Arthur Laurents' OUT Magazine Interview

Hello all. I received the April 2010 issue of OUT magazine. I was surprised to find an interview that Mickey Rapkin did with the formidable Arthur Laurents. Here are a few tidbits:

INTERVIEWER: Funny, I suppose tourists want to see the movie on stage. Meanwhile, there were reports of backstage drama. The principal actors were calling in sick so often you had to give the company a dressing down. ARTHUR: There's an Equity ruling-- a thing called a personal day. It's a question of whether you take advantage of it. When we did "Gypsy" with Patti LuPone, no one ever took a personal day, because I think she would have killed them. There was one performance of "West Side Story" where 11 people were out. We have replacements in this cast now that have given the show a new jolt. And some of them are better than the originals.

INTERVIEWER: You mentioned "La Cage Aux Folles". You directed the original. The show is coming back to Broadway in a stripped-down production that originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London's hot theater. ARTHUR: ....I didn't see Douglas Hodge, who is a very good actor. But I saw him on YouTube, and he can't sing. And he wore a dress like it belonged to a maiden aunt.

INTERVIEWER: Will you see Julie Taymor's "Spider Man"? ARTHUR: I wouldn't go to see "Spider Man."

INTERVIEWER: You've directed "Gypsy" with Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone. Pick your favorite Rose. ARTHUR: Patti.

INTERVIEWER: Why not take a second to think about it. ARTHUR: I shouldn't have said I like Patti best because they'll get pissed off. But I do.

INTEVIEWER: Besides the book, what's next? ARTHUR: They want to do "Gypsy" in London. They only want Patti and me.

INTERVIEWER: Will you do it? ARTHUR: How many times can you do it? I don't know. She wants to. And if I did, it would be for her. I can say I'm going to live forever. But if I do "Gypsy" again, it might cut that short.

Wow. I'll be gobsmacked! from RC in Austin, Texas

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Umm...Laurents didn't direct Gypsy with Ethel Merman. The interviewer needs to get his facts straight. But it's not surprising that he likes Patti's Rose best. He basically said so in his most recent book. He certainly didn't seem to like Merman's Rose too much.

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I love Arthur. I wish he were directing ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.

I'm not surprised that Patti is his favourite rose, but I'm not even going to try and justify it because she is the best. (Consider she is the newest rose is *his* acclaimed production that was apparently inspired by his recently deceased partner - it just seems like there is so much more going on here than simply 'she is the best').

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"We have replacements in this cast now that have given the show a new jolt. And some of them are better than the originals. "

This is 100% true. The cast is much better now.

I would love if Patti got one more chance to GYPSY again!

"They only want Patti and me. "

But why not bring Laura and Boyd? Both were phenomenal, and won the Tonys.

Updated On: 3/13/10 at 05:30 PM

"They only want Patti and me."

Classic Arthur. Whether it's true or not, he says these things, so that someone (or many people) will call up Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines and say "I hear the London producers don't want you!"

Not to mention building up the West Side kids and then taking pleasure in putting them down. Whether it's true or not (I'm sure it is), he loves to say things things like "better than the originals" in private and public so that more and more people will say to them "Did you hear what Arthur said about you?"

When he dies--by which I mean when someone carrying garlic drives a wooden stake through his vampiric heart--they won't dim the lights on Broadway. They'll blaze them twice as bright.

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Updated On: 3/13/10 at 06:23 PM

When he dies--by which I mean when someone carrying garlic drives a wooden stake through his vampiric heart--they won't dim the lights on Broadway. They'll blaze them twice as bright.

Here we go with the dramatics again. He wrote the book to two of the most important and critically acclaimed American musicals in history. Of course they're going to dim the lights. Don't be ridiculous.

I'm with PJ on this. If I thought it would accomplish anything, I'd start a Facebook campaign not to dim the lights for the vengeful old queen.

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I think those actresses would prefer "Curtain up! Light the lights!", no?

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The confirmation of the London talk was fun, though.

He is an interesting interview and honest. Why is this a bad thing?

You people are so dramatic. PalJoey is probably the only person on this board who has a real reason to hate the man.

His reputation precedes him, and leaves everything behind him covered in slime.

How about we champion someone positive?