Arthur Laurents

Arthur Laurents (1917–2011) was an American playwright, librettist, director, and screenwriter whose work included major Broadway musicals and films.

West Side Story: A musical by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents that reworks Romeo and Juliet amid gang conflict in New York. Laurents wrote its book, shaping the musical’s Romeo-and-Juliet structure and contemporary setting.
The Birdcage: A 1996 comedy film directed by Mike Nichols and adapted from La Cage aux Folles. Its source musical was directed on Broadway by Laurents.
Stephen Sondheim: An American composer and lyricist whose works include West Side Story, Company, and Sweeney Todd. Sondheim wrote lyrics for two landmark musicals with books by Laurents.
United States Army Signal Corps: A branch of the United States Army responsible for communications and information systems. Laurents wrote training and orientation films while serving in the Signal Corps during World War II.
Gypsy: A 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Its book established Laurents’s sharp portrait of performer Gypsy Rose Lee and her ambitious mother.
Anastasia: A 1956 historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and written by Arthur Laurents. The screenplay earned Laurents an Academy Award nomination.
Jule Styne: A British-born American composer known for Broadway musicals including Gypsy and Funny Girl. Styne composed the scores for Gypsy and Laurents’s later musical Anyone Can Whistle.
World War II: A global war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Allied and Axis powers. Laurents’s military service and early screenwriting began during this war.
The Way We Were: A 1973 romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and written by Arthur Laurents. Laurents drew on political tensions and personal history in this screenplay.
The Turning Point: A 1977 drama film about ballet dancers, written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. Laurents’s screenplay drew on the world of professional dance and earned an Oscar nomination.

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