'''Arthur Laurents''' (born [[July 14]], [[1918]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[playwright]], [[novelist]], [[screenwriter]], [[librettist]] and [[stage director]].

==Career==
Laurents was born in [[New York City]] to a [[Jewish]] family. After studying at [[Cornell University]] and a stint in the [[Army]], he began writing scripts for radio and, in [[1945]], wrote his first play, ''[[Home of the Brave]]'', a drama set during [[World War II]].

During [[McCarthyism]], Laurents was [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted]] by the [[Hollywood]] [[movie studio]] bosses and, for several years, none of his work was used in film. Other plays by Laurents include ''Time of the Cuckoo'', ''Invitation to a March'', ''The Enclave'', and ''Jolson Sings Again''. He also has written the books for several musicals, including ''[[West Side Story]]'', ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'', ''[[Anyone Can Whistle]]'', and ''[[Do I Hear a Waltz?]]'', which was based on his play ''Time of the Cuckoo''. Laurents has directed several [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] productions as well, including the musicals ''[[I Can Get It for You Wholesale]]'' and ''[[La Cage aux Folles (musical)|La Cage Aux Folles]]''.

[[Image:Thesnakepit.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''[[The Snake Pit]]'' (1948)]]

Laurents has also written two novels, ''The Way We Were'' and ''[[The Turning Point (1977 film)|The Turning Point]]'', both of which became successful films for which Laurents wrote the screenplays. He also wrote the screenplays for ''[[The Snake Pit]]'', ''[[Anastasia (1956 film)|Anastasia]]'', and the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''[[Rope (film)|Rope]]''. The play 'Time of the Cuckoo' later became the David Lean/Katherine Hepburn film [[Summertime (film) |Summertime]].

In [[2000]], Laurents published a memoir, ''Original Story By''. In it, the author reveals that he is [[homosexuality|homosexual]] and had relationships with [[Farley Granger]] and [[Tom Hatcher]]. <ref>{{Citation
| last =Bosworth
| first =Patricia
| title = He Wrote the Book
| newspaper =[[New York Times]]
| date =2000-04-16
| url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E4D8123FF935A25757C0A9669C8B63
| accessdate =2008-01-04 }}</ref>The latter relationship lasted for more than five decades until Hatcher's death on [[October 26]], [[2006]].

==Libretti==
*''[[Nick & Nora]]'' - 1991
*''[[The Madwoman of Central Park West]]'' - 1979
*''[[Hallelujah, Baby!]]'' - 1967 - [[Tony Award for Best Musical]]
*''[[Do I Hear a Waltz?]]'' - 1965
*''[[Anyone Can Whistle]]'' - 1964
*''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'' - 1959 - [[Tony Award|Tony]] Nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]
*''[[West Side Story]]'' - 1957 - [[Tony Award|Tony]] Nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]

==Direction==
*''[[Nick & Nora]]'' - 1991
*''[[Anyone Can Whistle]]'' - 1964
*''[[La Cage aux Folles]]'' - 1983 - [[Tony Award]] for Best Direction of a Musical
*''[[The Madwoman of Central Park West]]'' - 1979
*''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'' - 1974 - [[Tony Award|Tony]] Nomination for Best Direction of a Musical
*''[[I Can Get It for You Wholesale]]'' - 1962
*''[[Invitation to a March]]'' - 1960

==Plays==
*''[[Invitation to a March]]'' - 1960
*''[[A Clearing in the Woods]]'' - 1957
*''[[The Time of the Cuckoo]]'' - 1952
*''[[The Bird Cage]]'' - 1950
*''[[Home of the Brave]]'' - 1945

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=4307 Internet Broadway Database listing]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491306/ Internet Movie Database listing]
*[http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/other_news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003345921 Backstage news on Hatcher, November 1, 2006]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurents, Arthur}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights|American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American novelists]]
[[Category:American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Hollywood blacklist]]
[[Category:Jewish American writers]]
[[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]]
[[Category:Gay writers]]
[[Category:LGBT Jews]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American musical theatre librettists]]
[[Category:People from New York City]]

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