Arthur Laurents, the 91-year-old librettist of Broadway classics "West Side Story" and "Gypsy" and director of the last revivals of those two shows, visited the Playbill Radio studio for a far-ranging two-part interview in which he aired his opinions on sex, drugs, death, Patti LuPone, gays in theatre, his own 52-year relationship, foul language in the theatre, a highly-critical recent New York magazine profile; collaborators Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins; plus the forthcoming revival of "La Cage aux Folles" (which he will not direct). His new memoir, "Mainly on Directing," focuses on his work on the 2008 revival of "Gypsy" and the current revival of "West Side Story", which was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Revival of a Musical. For this week's part 2 of the interview, Laurents talks more about "West Side Story", the upcoming revival of his "Anyone Can Whistle" and his plans for the future, including the name of the young composer with whom he'd like to write a new musical. But first, Laurents takes us back in time to the beginning of his career – in radio!
Arthur Laurents, the 91-year-old librettist of Broadway classics West Side Story and Gypsy and director of the last two revivals of those shows, comes into the Playbill Radio studio for a far-ranging two-part interview with host Robert Viagas in which he airs his opinions on sex, drugs, death, Patti LuPone, gays in theatre, his own 52-year relationship, foul language in the theatre, a highly-critical recent New York magazine profile; collaborators Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins; plus the forthcoming revival of La Cage aux Folles (which he will not direct). His new memoir, "Mainly on Directing," focuses on his work on the 2008 revival of Gypsy and the current revival of West Side Story, which was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Revival of a Musical. Part one of two parts.
Tony nominees Thomas Sadoski and Marin Ireland tell what it's like appearing in "Reasons to Be Pretty," one of the most controversial dramas to open on Broadway this past spring. A passing comment by a man enrages his girlfriend and eventually causes the wreck of their relationship in the play by Neil LaBute that has audiences sometimes angrily shouting back at the actors as they perform. Ireland says she uses special relaxation techniques to get through the Act I argument scene eight times a week, and Sadoski says the play's climactic fight scene between two men sometimes is just as violent as it looks.
Playbill Radio spent Tony night 2009 on the red carpet outside Radio City Music Hall, and then in the press room talking to the winners moments after accepting their Tony medallions. You'll hear from Alice Ripley, Jerry Herman, Marcia Gay Harden, all three Billy Elliots and lots more.
The Tony Awards broadcast is coming up on June 7, and Playbill Radio spent an afternoon shortly after the nominations were announced talking to some of the lucky recipients about their shows, their reactions, their hopes and their Broadway dreams. In part two of our "Cavalcade of Tony Nominees," we talk to [title of show] librettist (and co-star) Hunter Bell; "Hair" director Diane Paulus; actor Marc Kudish, who insists he is not the villain of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5"; director Michael Greif of "Rent" and this year's "Next to Normal"; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, who tells what it was like to adapt the animated film "Shrek" as a musical; and award-winning actor Jeff Daniels of "God of Carnage" — all of whom had some surprising and interesting things to say about their chance at Tony glory.
Guest this week on Playbill Radio's Center Stage is David Bryan, one-time composer from the rock band Bon Jovi, who is all over Broadway and Off-Broadway this spring, most notably in the new musical "The Toxic Avenger," which won the Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding New Off-Broadway musical. Based on the campy horror film of the same name, "The Toxic Avenger" has a book by Playbill Radio's other guest, Joe DiPietro, author of Broadway's "All Shook Up" and the long running Off-Broadway revue "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change."
The Good Times really are back, now that "Guys and Dolls" star Faith Prince has returned to the world of musicals, taking over the role of Ursula the Sea Witch, one of Disney's most deliciously evil villainesses, in the Broadway musical "The Little Mermaid." After spending the last few years on TV dramas and stage musical dramas like "A Catered Affair" and "A Man of No Importance," she tells Playbill Radio what it's like like to use her comedy chops once more in the Alan Menken musical at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre — plus, she gives a truly hair-raising demonstration of the evil laugh she cooked up for the role.
The Tony Awards broadcast is coming up on June 7 and Playbill Radio spent an afternoon shortly after the nominations were announced talking to some of the lucky recipients about their shows, their reactions, their hopes and their dreams. In addition to Broadway stars like Alice Ripley, Christopher Sieber and Constantine Maroulis we hear from the songwriting team of "Next to Normal," the producers of "Billy Elliot" and "The Norman Conquests," the rising young stars of "Reasons to Be Pretty," plus some of Broadway's lesser-known magic makers, all of whom had some surprising and interesting things to say about their chance at Tony glory.
