Arthur Laurents News

The international touring cast of WEST SIDE STORY put together a fun lip-sync video to Icona Pop's summer anthem 'I Love It'. Watch them party it up below!

Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, celebrates 30 years of producing critically-acclaimed musicals and plays with its stellar 2014-2015 season. The internationally celebrated musical LES MISERABLES previews March 29, opens April 8, and runs through June 8; the smash hit Tony Award-winning musical comedy THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE previews June 19, opens June 26, and runs through August 17; the clever and suspenseful new play THE GAME'S AFOOT previews August 28, opens September 4 and runs through October 19; the legendary Broadway musical CAMELOT previews October 30, opens November 6 and runs through January 4, 2015; and the musical phenomenon WEST SIDE STORY previews January 15, opens January 22, and runs through March 15, 2015.

The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is coming to Memphis. WEST SIDE STORY will open at the The Orpheum Theatre on Tuesday, November 5. Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents' Broadway direction is recreated for the tour by David Saint,the Associate Director on Broadway. The original Jerome Robbins choreography is reproduced by Tony Award-nominee Joey McKneely (The Boy from Oz, The Life).

Casting has been announced for Troika Entertainment's tour of WEST SIDE STORY, the breathtaking revival based on Arthur Laurent's Broadway direction. The tour resumes November 5, 2013, at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN.

The Guardian writes that a new collection of letters by famed composer Leonard Bernstein -- Nigel Simeone's Leonard Bernstein Letters, set to debut next month -- reveal the composer's 'hostility' for WEST SIDE STORY book writer Arthur Laurents. Bernstein even considered walking away from the project, according to one of the letters.

George Street Playhouse and Artistic Director David Saint have announced the casting of MARLO THOMAS, award-winning actress of stage and screen, in the world premiere production of Clever Little Lies, by Tony Award-winner JOE DiPIETRO (rescheduled from the 2012-13 season). Mr. Saint will helm the production, slated to take the stage in New Brunswick, November 19 - December 22. The remainder of the cast will be announced at a later date.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the first production in its new series presenting the 'lost' gems of one particular year in Broadway history, 'Porchlight Revisits...' The inaugural series focuses on the year 1964 and opens with Anyone Can Whistle, book by Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story) and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (Follies, Sweeney Todd), starring Rebecca Finnegan, with direction by Christopher Pazdernik and music direction by Aaron Benham. Presented for one night only, Anyone Can Whistle plays tonight, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.

Mama Rose, Baby June, and plain, gawky Louise (but just wait!) hit the boards as the ever-popular musical Gypsy becomes the second production of the Novato Theater Company's 2013-2014 season in its charming new theater. The Arthur Laurents-Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim musical features songs like 'Let Me Entertain You,' 'You Gotta Have a Gimmick,' and of course, 'Everything's Coming up Roses.'

We thought it was a little strange when it crossed our News Desk today that Liza Minnelli would be starring in a film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, to be produced by the dynamic duo of TV, Film and Broadway vets Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. This was posted by 'Online PR News' on September 15th and we thought it odd that we wouldn't have heard of this, so we reached out to the pair and to Minnelli's publicist and quickly confirmed that there was NO truth to the report, and further confirmed that Zadan and Meron have NEVER been involved with a movie version of Sunset Boulevard.

The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is opening at The Orpheum Theatre on Tuesday, November 5. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 27 at 10:00 AM. Ticket prices range from $20 to $90 and will be available for purchase online at the official Orpheum Theatre website,www.orpheum-memphis.com, The Orpheum Box Office (901.525.3000), the ticket counter at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, and all Ticketmaster centers (901.743.ARTS).

The tour of the smash hit Broadway revival of WEST SIDE STORY is opening at The Orpheum Theatre on Tuesday, November 5. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 27 at 10:00 AM. Ticket prices range from $20 to $90 and will be available for purchase online at the official Orpheum Theatre website,www.orpheum-memphis.com, The Orpheum Box Office (901.525.3000), the ticket counter at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, and all Ticketmaster centers (901.743.ARTS).

Playwright Arthur Laurents lived in a beautiful townhouse on Saint Luke's Place until 2006. According to Curbed, his former home has been on and off the market since the middle of 2012, upon first entering the market it was asking $35000 a month and then it drastically reduced its price to $18,000 a month. According to StreetEasy, the owners are not ready to give up landlording and sell the house. The 4,368 square-foot, 4 bedroom, 5 bathroom home is asking $12 million.

Today we are talking to a supremely talented triple-threat who has carved out an astonishingly impressive career thus far onstage with her string of stupendous performances ranging from her blazing debut in the late-90s revival of THE SOUND OF MUSIC and WONDERFUL TOWN through to SWING!, INTO THE WOODS, NINE, THE WEDDING SINGER and her Tony Award-winning work in the recent revival of GYPSY - the alluring and simply phenomenal Laura Benanti. Touching upon many of her past stage and screen roles and expressing candid insights into many of her most celebrated characters to date, Benanti opens up about the productions and properties which have made her one of the most exciting and in-demand Broadway crossover performers of the 21st century. In addition to all about her many Broadway bows - including her most recent runs in IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY) and WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN - Benanti also shares thoughts on her multiple TV and film projects, new and old, shedding light on THE PLAYBOY CLUB, GO ON, STARVED, THE BIG C, her current arc on USA's ROYAL PAINS, prior and upcoming film roles and even more. Most importantly, Benanti provides us with all the details on her new live solo album, IN CONSTANT SEARCH OF THE RIGHT KIND OF ATTENTION: LIVE AT 54 BELOW, as well as gives a preview of her series of upcoming concerts at 54 Below in promotion of the sterling new release. Plus, Benanti looks ahead to taking on Shakespeare via the new Public Theater production of THE TEMPEST as well as tackling a particularly operatic part in 2014 (byway of the just-announced THE MOST HAPPY FELLA). All of that, Benanti's recollections of performing a hilarious specialty song at this year's spectacular Tony Awards, as well as roles she would love to play in the future and much, much more!

?The Ogunquit Playhouse's revival of the legendary Bernstein-Sondheim-Laurents-Robbins classic, West Side Story, which opened September 5th pulsates with muscular energy and wrenching pathos. It is a production which makes the essence of the original creators palpable at the same time that it takes a fresh, vibrant - and, yes - touchingly relevant look at the material. Moreover, the Ogunquit West Side Story, directed by BT McNicholl and choreographed by Jeffry Denman forges a thrilling bond between stage and audience in the immediacy of the action and emotion.

Nine of the Fox Theatre's 2013-2014 U.S. Bank Broadway Series shows will go on sale today, September 7 at 10am. From 10am to 2pm, the public is invited to view the newly restored auditorium ceiling and to enjoy free tours of the theatre.

Laura Benanti's engagement at New York's 54 BELOW will be recorded and released by Broadway Records. 'In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention: Live At 54 BELOW' will be released digitally today, September 6th and on CD on September 10, 2013.

'The show still has the energy of those brilliant young collaborators toiling on together and shining that diamond,' says BT McNicholl of his latest project, a new production of West Side Story which opens at the Ogunquit Playhouse September 5 and runs through September 28. The Broadway writer-director is thrilled to have the opportunity 'to take a fresh look' at the Bernstein-Sondheim-Laurents-Robbins classic and to bring to it 'our own aesthetic.'

Laura Benanti's 'In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention: Live At 54 BELOW' will be released digitally onSeptember 6th and on CD on September 10, 2013. The CD is now available for pre-order at http://amzn.com/B00CRU5YW0. The track listing and cover art were unveiled today by Broadway Records.

The producers of WEST SIDE STORY, playing at Sadler's Wells until 22 September before a nationwide tour, have partnered with the youth charity Leap Confronting Conflict, to run a workshop together for young Londoners exploring the musical's gang and race related conflict issues. Following the success of the workshop, there are now plans to roll out further outreach workshops whilst the musical tours the country during the coming year.

Novato Theater Company opens its new season in its brand-new venue with a smashing historical drama, James Goldman's The Lion in Winter, a play full of plots, counterplots and unforgettable characters. Lion is directed by award-winning director Kris Neely and features Craig Christiansen as King Henry II of England and Maxine Sattizahn as Eleanor of Aquitaine. Assistant Director is Michael Walraven. NTC Executive Producer is Janelle Ponte.