Arthur Laurents Biography (1918?-)

Born July 14, 1918 (some sources say 1917), in Brooklyn, NY; son of Irving (an attorney) and Ada (a teacher; maiden name, Robbins) Laurents. Addresses: Agent: The Gersh Agency, 130 West 42nd St., Suite 2400, New York, NY 10036.; Contact: P.O. Box, 582, Quoque, NY 11959.

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Writer, director
Birth Details
July 14, 1918?
Brooklyn, New York, United States

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Stage Director
  • Invitation to a March, Music Box Theatre, New York City, 1960
  • I Can Get for You Wholesale, Sam S. Shubert Theatre, New York City, 1962
  • Anyone Can Whistle, Majestic Theatre, New York City, 1964
  • The Enclave, Washington Theatre Club, Washington, DC, then TheatreFour, New York City, 1973
  • Gypsy, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1973, then Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, 1974
  • My Mother Was a Fortune Teller, Hudson Guild Theatre, New York City, 1978
  • Scream, Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1978
  • The Madwoman of Central Park West, Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo,NY, and 22 Steps Theatre, New York City, 1979
  • So What Are We Gonna Do Now?, 1982
  • La cage aux folles, Palace Theatre, New York City, 1983, then Music Hall, Dallas, TX, 1987
  • Birds of Paradise, Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1987
  • Gypsy (revival), St. James Theatre, then Marquis Theatre, New YorkCity, 1991
  • Nick and Nora, Marquis Theatre, 1991
  • Jolson Sings Again, 1993
  • The Radical Mystique, 1995
  • My Good Name, 1997
  • Venecia, George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ, 2001
  • Major Tours
  • Director, The Time of the Cuckoo, U.S. cities, 1953
  • Director, Gypsy, U.S. cities, 1974 and 1989
  • Director, La cage aux folles, Australia, 1985, U.S. cities, 1986,and London, 1986
  • Film Work
  • (With Herbert Ross) Producer, The Turning Point, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977
  • Film Appearances
  • Himself, The Celluloid Closet (documentary; also known as Celluloid Closet and Gefangen in der Traumfabrik), Sony Pictures Classics, 1996
  • Himself, Looking Back: The Making of "The Way We Were" (documentary), 1999
  • Himself, Rope Unleashed (documentary short film), Universal, 2001
  • Himself, Rescued from the Closet (documentary), Columbia TriStar Home Video, 2001
  • Himself, Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (documentary; also known as Broadway: The Golden Age), 2002
  • Interviewee, West Side Memories (documentary), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists Home Entertainment, 2003
  • Television Appearances
  • Episodic
  • Changing Stages, PBS, 2001
  • Specials
  • Broadway Sings: The Music of Jule Styne, PBS, 1987
  • Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note, PBS, 1998
  • Gypsy Rose Lee: Naked Ambition, Arts and Entertainment, 1999
  • WRITINGS
  • Plays
  • Home of the Brave, produced at Belasco Theatre, New York City, 1945, produced in London as The Way Back, published by Random House, 1946
  • Heartsong, produced at Shubert Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1947
  • The Bird Cage, produced at Coronet Theatre, New York City, 1950, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1950
  • The Time of the Cuckoo, produced at Empire Theatre, New York City,1952, published by Random House, 1953
  • A Clearing in the Woods, produced at Belasco Theatre, 1957, published by Random House, 1957, revised edition, Dramatists Play Service, 1960
  • West Side Story, produced at National Theatre, Washington, DC, then WinterGarden Theatre, New York City, 1957, published by Random House, 1958
  • Gypsy (musical; based on Gypsy Rose Lee's memoirs of the same title), produced at Broadway Theatre, New York City, 1959, published by Random House, 1960
  • Invitation to a March, produced at Music Box Theatre, 1960, published by Random House, 1961
  • Anyone Can Whistle (musical), produced at Majestic Theatre, 1964,published by Random House, 1965
  • Do I Hear a Waltz? (musical; based on Laurents's The Time of the Cuckoo), produced at Forty-Sixth Street Theatre, New York City, 1965, published by Random House, 1966
  • Hallelujah Baby! (musical), produced at Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1967, published by Random House, 1967
  • The Enclave, produced at Washington Theatre Club, Washington, DC,then Theatre Four, 1973, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1974
  • Scream, produced at Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1978
  • (With Phyllis Newman) My Mother Was a Fortune Teller, produced atHudson Guild Theatre, 1978, produced as The Madwoman of Central Park West, 22 Steps Theatre, New York City, 1979
  • A Loss of Memory (one-act), produced at Southampton College Theatre, NY, 1981, published by Chilton, 1983
  • Nick and Nora, produced at Marquis Theatre, 1991
  • Jolson Sings Again, produced at Seattle Repertory Theater, 1995
  • The Time of the Cuckoo, produced at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, NewYork City, 1999
  • Big Potato, produced at The Duke on 42nd St., New York City, 2000
  • (Adapter) Venecia, produced at George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ, 2001
  • Plays also published in anthologies and periodicals.
  • Screenplays
  • (With Frank Partos and Millen Brand) The Snake Pit (based on MaryJane Ward's novel), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1948
  • Rope (also known as Alfred Hitchcock's Rope; based on Patrick Hamilton's play), Warner Bros., 1948
  • (With Philip Yordan) Anna Lucasta (based on Yordan's play), Columbia, 1949
  • Caught, Enterprise Pictures, 1949
  • (With Carl Foreman) Home of the Brave, United Artists, 1949
  • Anastasia (based on Marcelle Maurette's play), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1956
  • Bonjour Tristesse (based on Francoise Sagan's novel), Columbia, 1958
  • (With Ernest Lehman) West Side Story, United Artists, 1961
  • (With Leonard Spigelgass) Gypsy, Warner Bros., 1962
  • (With David Lean and H. E. Bates) Summertime (also known as Summer Madness; based on the play The Time of the Cuckoo), United Artists, 1965
  • The Way We Were, Columbia, 1973
  • The Turning Point, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977
  • Television Specials
  • The Light Fantastic; Or, How to Tell Your Past, Present and Maybe Future through Social Dancing, NBC, 1967
  • Radio Plays
  • Now Playing Tomorrow, 1939
  • Western Electric Communicade, 1944
  • The Last Day of the War, 1945
  • The Face, 1945
  • Radio Episodes
  • Hollywood Playhouse, Dr. Christian, The Thin Man, and Manhattan at Midnight, 1939-1940
  • The Man Behind the Gun, Army Service Force Presents, Assignment Home, and This Is Your FBI, 1943-1945
  • Novels
  • The Way We Were, Harper, 1972
  • The Turning Point, New American Library, 1977
  • Autobiography
  • Original Story: A Memoir of Broadway & Hollywood, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

  • Gypsy was adapted for a television movie which aired on CBS in 1993.
OTHER SOURCES
    Books
    • Contemporary Dramatists, St. James Press, 1999
    • International Dictionary of Theatre, Volume 2: Playwrights,St. James Press, 1993