|
Biography
Mr. Laurents was fairly well established as a playwright — having scored critical plaudits with his 1945 Broadway debut, Home of the Brave, and a popular success with the 1952 Shirley Booth vehicle The Time of the Cuckoo — when he was asked, in quick succession, by Jerome Robbins to provide the librettos to two early efforts by Stephen Sondheim, who was then only recognized as a lyricist.
West Side Story placed him in collaboration not only with Sondheim, but Leonard Bernstein, on a show that would become a benchmark in mature musical theatre expression, not to mention a pinnacle in musical and choreographic achievement. It was Robbins who first approached Bernstein and Mr. Laurents about doing a modern musical version of Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Laurents and Bernstein, inspired by accounts of race riots in Los Angeles, later hatched the idea of making the story be about to rival youth gangs, one white, one Puerto Rican, in the New York City slums. Receiving nearly equal praise to Bernstein and Robbins' contributions was Mr. Laurents' tightly constructed, realistic, yet romantic text about the motivations and personal trials of two warring youth gangs — an unusual state of affairs in the musical theatre, where librettos were typically either discounted or ridiculed by critics. Though the West Side Story tale is essentially street melodrama, the details in Mr. Laurents libretto fleshed out the characters in crafty, subtle, economical ways. For example, you learn a great deal about virginal Maria in one sentence by Mr. Laurents: She's frustrated that she's made to wear a white dress, a color fit for "babies."
Gypsy bowed on Broadway only two years later, teaming Mr. Laurents again with Sondheim and Robbins, as well as composer Jule Styne and star Ethel Merman. According to Mr. Laurents, Robbins insisted he write the book to a musical adaptation of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee's autobiography. After mulling the property for a while, the writer decided the show should focus not on Lee but on her mother. With a dry eye, the writer tracked the gradual rise and steep, steady fall of Mama Rose, a voracious stage mother whose two daughters are sacrificed to her undying ambition. Many musical historians consider the trenchant libretto the best ever written, the often shattering dramatic scenes easily the equal of the soaring songs.
Productions
Click company name to view productions details.
|
Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
|