?West Side Story? Playwright Arthur Laurents Dies

Playrwright Arthur Laurents has died at age 93.

Arthur Laurents, the playwright behind the musicals West Side Story and Gypsy, has passed away. The New York Times reports that Laurents died yesterday, of complications from pneumonia. He was 93.

Laurents spent the majority of his 65-year-long career writing and directing plays – which he continued doing until two years ago. His big break came in 1957 with West Side Story, his spin on the classic Shakespeare tale Romeo and Juliet. Laurents took the play to composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sonheim, and together the trio created the unforgettable Broadway show.

Laurents wrote in his 2009 memoir, “What we really did stylistically with West Side Story was take every musical theater technique as far as it could be taken. Scene, song and dance were integrated seamlessly; we did it all better than anyone ever had before.” His memoir is titled Mainly on Directing: “Gypsy,” “West Side Story,” and Other Musicals.

1959 brought Laurents Gypsy, which many consider one of Broadway’s best shows. He was also involved with directing other successful revival shows of Gypsy after its initial premiere.

Laurents’ first novel, The Way We Were, was published in 1972, and in 1973 he wrote the screenplay for the film starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford.

Laurents spent his last decades involved with various other plays and musicals. His last play, Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are, premiered off-Broadway in the spring of 2009.

Source: http://blog.starcam.com/post/arthur-laurents-dies-93-west-side-story.aspx

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