I was fascinated to read in today’s NY Post that Arthur Laurents, 91, is directing West Side Story this spring on Broadway. He wrote the book of the show over 40 years ago. His successful production of Gypsy just closed, and he directed that one too, to great acclaim. What is his secret? Is it passion? Fear of becoming insignicant? A refusal to accept the quieter life that is supposed to come with old age?
People who meet Laurents are impressed that he sounds like a young man, not an old one. I suspsect that the secret of a lively end of life is a lively beginning of one. If you carry your curiousity with you for all your years, it may be all you need to keep things interesting. That’s what my father was like when he insisted on meeting new woman and dating when he was 80. Laurents will begin readying his bilingual West Side Story after he gets back from Europe. Right now he is going skiing in St. Moritz with producer Hal Prince, who is 80.
Don’t you want to be skiing at 80, and in St. Moritz, no less?
Directing at 90, skiing at 80!
Bob Morris, author of Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad, is guest blogging on Jewcy, and he’ll be here all week. Stay tuned.