Customer Reviews

Mainly on Directing: Gypsy, West Side Story, and Other Musicals (Borzoi Books)

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Arthur Laurents takes no prisoners in this extremely frank and personal view of the theater he loves. This is usual of his writing, he certainly speaks his mind. Director Sam Mendes comes in for a lacerating as does the Gypsy revival with Bernadette Peters that Laurents did Not direct. It is a sad thing to discover that Arthur's relationship with Stephen Sondheim also suffers strain. The joy of the book is the perceptions about musical theater directing, performing and creation. Laurents constantly talks about having the musical 'in your bones' and those that do not - he names.
I could not put this book down! You get a first-hand study of the many variants of Gypsy (with illuminating little nuggets of textual study) and brilliant perceptions of his other significant Broadway work. This is an extraordinary little book.

if you adore musical theatreyouwill love this bookisaw the originalwest side story in 1957and the original gypsy in 1959. it was fun to know the inside informationabout each show. irecently saw gypsy with patti lupone. it was exciting to have the knowledge from arthur laurentsat how he made a great show even better. the book deserves better than an average of three stars. read it. you/ll thank me.

Nobody can talk about theater today with more passion (and dispassion) than Mr Laurents. He pulls no punches, but also gives credit where its due. In his latest book, he talks about many of his past shows, with particular attention to the last few reincarnations of "Gypsy" (with Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone), not to mention others back to Ethel Merman, the original Rose- he's seen them all.

His books are all fascinating reads for anyone with interest in theater, and this one is as good as it gets - this man has been a player in NY theater since the 1940s and he doesn't miss a beat.

I have found this book difficult to put down, and a most enjoyable read. I work in theater myself, and find Laurents' style not only very readable, but also an entertaining insight into how a theatrical work is brought to life. There are always highs and lows in the rehearsal process; some people the director gets on well with, and others he/she detests; moments of revelation, and moments of sheer slog and hard work... and he relates all of these both well and grippingly throughout the book. Everyone secretly wants to know about the backstage tantrums and upsets, and, again, Laurents doesn't disappoint.
The problem for me however, as others have also pointed out, is that he seems to show absolutely no sign of self-awareness. Although one needs to have confidence in one's own talents, Laurents seems less happy to discuss his own weaknesses, which is what would have elevated this book to something higher than simply a kiss-and-tell exposee. He contradicts himself again and again, one moment railing at someone else's choice to ignore tradition, and then several pages later clapping himself on the back for doing the same thing. He sneers at Mendes for not having the 'musical in his bones' when Mendes directs "Gypsy", and then smugly congratulates himself for taking the 'musical theater' out of his own production of the same work and turning it into a 'musical play' by treating his performers as 'actors'. Many found Mendes' production both insightful and excellent, and while Laurents can certainly disagree, he comes across as simply disingenuous in the way he consistently denigrates it.
Ultimately, it's a very good read, but sadly lacking as an insight into Laurents himself (other than in a rather unflattering way), and although his description of the directing process is accurate and entertaining, he too often makes it appear as though he alone has discovered these secrets, which is hardly the case.

I read the whole book in one sitting because I could not put it down. Laurents is a fascinating man who pulls no punches in expressing his opinions about other people's work. His insights and gossip about such luminaries as Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Stephen Sondheim, Ethyl Merman, Angela Lansbury, Gene Barry, and Sam Mendes makes for a fascinating read. Laurents, who wrote the books for "Gypsy" and "West Side Story" is also a successful Broadway director and his stories about the challenges of directing on The Great White Way are always intersting. The book is informative, gossipy, and fun. Highly recommend to anyone who loves theatre.

I was prepared for the glowing words about everything associated with Laurents from his writing to his directing on and on. But, his attacks at others get really old quickly, starting with Sam Mendes.

I saw the original "Gypsy" and "I Can Get It For You Wholesale," musicals about which Laurents writes at great length. Of course, Laurents believes that only the "Gypsy" revivals that he directed got things right. He blames everyone but himself for the failure of "Wholesale." Laurents is not happy about Hammerstein's mentoring of Sondheim. Perhaps if Laurents had a mentor, that person could have told him to check with others frequently because you [Laurents] lack self awareness (its not "in your bones," a phrase that Laurents uses many, many times in this book).

I was so looking forward to this book after Laurents' first book and I kept reading with less and less enthusiasm as he ripped other artists apart and built himself up all the while repeating himself in ways that are ridiculous when one considers that this book had a real live editor. There is little or no information about shows such as Anyone Can Whistle or Do I Hear a Waltz and tons about the very flawed directorial jobs he did on Gypsy (the latest revival...the other two were superior in every way) and West Side Story. Mr. Laurents seems to believe that the material to which he was a major contributor doesn't work as well as it once did (in the case of West Side he is not wrong) but puts down "musical comedy" and builds himself up as the savior of a Broadway he calls Chernobyl. Perhaps these are the rantings of a 91 year old man, but it comes across as mean spirited and wrong headed. And worst of all the book tells us nothing about directing. Or even any of his secrets. It just tells us that without him the successes would have been failures and that Harold Rome didn't have musicals in his bones. Crazy! Badly edited and incomplete and very frustrating for fans of musical theatre.