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65-679: ( The ) Big Potato may refer to: Big Potato , a play written by Arthur Laurents "Big Potato", nickname of baseball player Carlos Pascual "The Big Potato", an episode of the American children's TV series Dora the Explorer " The Big Potato (landmark) ", a landmark and tourist attraction in Robertson, New South Wales, Australia See also [ edit ] " Charlie Big Potato ", song by Skunk Anansie Doug , originally thought to be

130-502: A film studio in Astoria, Queens , where he wrote training films and met, among others, George Cukor and William Holden . He later was reassigned to write plays for Armed Service Force Presents , a radio show that dramatized the contributions of all branches of the armed forces. According to John Clum, "Laurents was always a mirror of his times. Through his best work, one sees a staged history of leftist, gender, and gay politics in

195-417: A Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone , and in 2009, he tackled a bilingual revival of West Side Story , with Spanish translations of some dialogue and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda . While preparing West Side Story , he noted, "The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity." Following the production's March 19 opening at

260-578: A child. His paternal grandparents were Orthodox Jews , and his mother's parents, although born Jewish, were atheists . His mother kept a kosher home for her husband's sake, but was lax about attending synagogue and observing the Jewish holidays . His Bar Mitzvah marked the end of Laurents's religious education and the beginning of his rejection of all fundamentalist religions, although he continued to identify himself as Jewish. However, late in life he admitted to having changed his last name from Levine to

325-472: A large swimming pool along the courtyard and was opened on February 2, 1902. A statue of Erasmus, cast from the 1622 original in Rotterdam by Hendrick de Keyser and donated by Richard Young , an alumnus of the school, was installed in the school's courtyard. Dedicated in 1931, the base is engraved with the words: Desiderius Erasmus, the maintainer and restorer of the sciences and polite literature,

390-468: A million dollars, and since that was considered too expensive, the project was dropped. The Brooklyn Board of Education did however, approve "temporary additions" to the school to accommodate the growing population and purchased additional property to allow more room to build a new school. With the consolidation of the City of New York in 1898, the highly varied needs of schools in all the boroughs came under

455-579: A new building for Erasmus Hall could be constructed, the Board of Education purchased more land along Bedford Avenue near the existing building, and established classrooms in the expansion buildings that were already on the lot. They also used classrooms in other schools, such as P.S. 977, and held half-day classes. The modern high school was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style that Snyder used on many of his buildings. On August 17, 1904,

520-520: A passport, was passed in 1950, Laurents and Granger immediately applied for and received passports and departed for Paris with Harold Clurman and his wife Stella Adler . Laurents and Granger remained abroad, traveling throughout Europe and northern Africa, for about 18 months. Years earlier, Laurents and Jerome Robbins had developed Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948), a stage musical about the world of ballet that ran for 188 performances on Broadway, and starred Nancy Walker and Harold Lang . Laurents left

585-419: A star. His next project was the stage musical Anyone Can Whistle , which he directed and for which he wrote the book, but it proved to be an infamous flop. He later had success with the musicals Hallelujah, Baby! (written for Lena Horne but ultimately starring Leslie Uggams ) and La Cage Aux Folles (1983), which he directed, however Nick & Nora was not successful. In 2008, Laurents directed

650-417: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Arthur Laurents After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II , Laurents turned to writing for Broadway , producing a body of work that includes West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), and Hallelujah, Baby! (1967), winning

715-524: Is found in Brooklyn. This growth arises not only from the natural increase in the number of pupils entering from the Brooklyn elementary schools, but also from the number of pupils entering from the Manhattan elementary schools ...The consequence is that the Brooklyn high schools are all crowded to excess. Concerned citizens of the area wrote to the Board of Education emphasizing: ... the fact that

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780-517: Is his adaptation of Rope for Alfred Hitchcock . Soon after being discharged from the Army, Laurents met ballerina Nora Kaye , and the two became involved in an on-again, off-again romantic relationship. While Kaye was on tour with Fancy Free , Laurents continued to write for the radio but was becoming discontented with the medium. In 1962, Laurents directed I Can Get It for You Wholesale , which helped to turn then-unknown Barbra Streisand into

845-500: Is over a portion of the building, will contain four classrooms. The completed scheme of which this is only a part contemplates the erection of a building on the northerly side of the tower for additional classrooms and laboratories, etc., as may be needed in the future. The cornerstone for the new building was laid in January 1905 and work was begun immediately, resulting in seating for an additional 600 students. The construction contract

910-560: The Daily Worker . He decided to return to Paris, but the State Department refused to renew his passport. Laurents spent three months trying to clear his name, and after submitting a lengthy letter explaining his political beliefs in detail, it was determined they were so idiosyncratic he could not have been a member of any subversive groups. Within a week his passport was renewed, and the following day he sailed for Europe on

975-504: The Ile de France . While on board, he received a cable from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offering him a screenwriting assignment. The blacklisting had ended. Laurents wrote Original Story By Arthur Laurents: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood , published in 2000. In it, he discusses his lengthy career and his many gay affairs and long-term relationships, including those with Farley Granger and Tom Hatcher (August 24, 1929 - October 26, 2006). Hatcher

1040-563: The Herbert Ross drama film The Turning Point (1977). Born Arthur Levine , Laurents was the son of middle-class Jewish parents, his father a lawyer and his mother a schoolteacher, who gave up her career when she married. He was born and raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn , a borough of New York City , New York, the elder of two children, and attended Erasmus Hall High School . His sister Edith suffered from chorea as

1105-561: The Palace Theatre , Ben Brantley of The New York Times called the translations "an only partly successful experiment" and added, "Mr. Laurents has exchanged insolence for innocence and, as with most such bargains, there are dividends and losses." The national tour (2011–2012) was directed by David Saint , who was Laurents' assistant director on the Broadway production. The Spanish lyrics and dialog were reduced from about 18% of

1170-550: The Tony Award for Best Musical for the latter. He directed the musical La Cage aux Folles in 1983 and received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical . Laurents also worked as a screenwriter on Hollywood films such as Alfred Hitchcock 's thriller Rope (1948), Anastasia (1956), Bonjour Tristesse (1958) and Sydney Pollack 's romance The Way We Were (1973). He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for

1235-423: The 18th and 19th centuries associated with the development of the school are still in place. In 1994, after years of poor academic scores, the huge Erasmus Hall High School was divided internally into five smaller high schools, each concentrating on a different academic area. The five schools have separate administrations and faculties, and hold classes in different sections of the large building. However, they use

1300-521: The Art Commission, by C. B. J. Snyder shows the building essentially as built. William Gompert had been appointed in his place and supervised the construction. Although somewhat simpler than his earlier buildings, the Bedford building has a central tower with an arched passageway into the courtyard, on axis with the tower on Flatbush Avenue. The building contained many new classrooms, gymnasia and

1365-552: The New York City School Board's Committee on Buildings presented its plans for a new campus for Erasmus Hall High School. It was designed to be constructed around the existing, centrally-located buildings, so that classes could continue to be held there until the new buildings were ready. The plan called for a full quadrangle of buildings along the perimeter of the large lot. It was constructed during four periods: 1905-1906, 1909-1911, 1924-1925, and 1939-1940, with

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1430-571: The Story was published posthumously in September 2012. Laurents died from complications of pneumonia at his home in Manhattan on May 5, 2011, aged 93. Following a long tradition, Broadway theatre lights were dimmed at 8 p.m. on May 6, 2011, for one minute in his memory. His ashes were buried alongside those of Tom Hatcher in a memorial bench in Quogue, Long Island, New York. Honors A new award

1495-419: The archway in the base of which will be afforded a view of the 'quad' with its greensward, trees, shrubs and vines. What the ultimate design of the various buildings going to make up the group may be, it is, of course, impossible to say, but in designing and planning that portion which you now see approaching completion, I have always intended that the whole should be a graphic illustration of the various phases of

1560-423: The building in the rear portion of which will be the auditorium, classrooms, library, etc. The building will be three and four stories in height. The basement will contain the gymnasium, placed beneath the auditorium, lecture rooms, baths, toilet room, etc., the boiler or power room being placed beneath the driveway of the tower, one of the turrets of which is utilized for a smoke flue. The first floor will contain

1625-611: The common lunchroom, gymnasium, library and auditorium at separate times during the day. This division created no changes on the exterior of the building. As of 2010, separate high schools now operate on the Erasmus Hall Educational Campus: In 2011, the columns that supported the building were found to have structural problems, and that year, the building received a restoration. A 2019 report states that "the building still needs more love but in 2017 Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams pledged $ 650,000 of

1690-484: The courtyard of the current school, served the students of Erasmus Hall in three different centuries. Now a designated New York City Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places , the building is a museum exhibiting the school's history. Due to poor academic scores, the city closed Erasmus Hall High School in 1994, turning the building into Erasmus Hall Educational Campus and using it as

1755-543: The decades after World War II." After graduating from Cornell University in 1937, Laurents, who was gay, went to work as a writer for radio drama at CBS in New York. His military duties during World War II, which consisted of writing training films and radio scripts for Armed Service Force Presents , brought him into contact with some of the best film directors—distinguished director George Cukor directed his first script. Laurents's work in radio and film during World War II

1820-426: The future of the school that the present one could not be disturbed, for therein lay the suggestion for a design unique in high schools of the country... A quadrangle enclosed by buildings devoted to various departments of school work. The buildings, therefore, have been designed as a screen across the end of the quadrangle, shutting out the noise and confusion of Flatbush Avenue traffic, the only entrance being through

1885-400: The general characteristics of the earlier ones, giving a sense of unity to the entire composition. The first buildings would be constructed along Flatbush Avenue, with others added over time, as the need became clear and funds became available. Snyder explained his plans for the first phase as follows: ... A careful study of the matter convinced me that after all it was a good thing for

1950-633: The gift of the land the Board of Education are to erect and maintain upon said land a High School Building of the same character and grade as other High School Buildings in the City of Brooklyn. Following the agreement with the Erasmus Hall Board of Trustees, the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn requested proposals for a design for a new school building. Twenty architects responded with plans, several of which were published in contemporary architectural periodicals. It soon became clear that none of these plans could be erected for less than

2015-466: The greatest man of his century, the excellent citizen who, through his immortal writings, acquired an everlasting fame. Lobbying began in 1929 for the construction of the final section, the building on the south side of the lot connecting the Bedford Avenue building with the auditorium near Flatbush Avenue. Money was not appropriated for this until 1937, and it was finally built in 1939–40. Under

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2080-486: The large arch under the tower, which is placed on the axis of the longer dimension of the plot. This, as designed, would be called a chapel were it part of a college, but if we may not aspire to this, yet I have thought that it might be known as 'the Hall.' As such the endeavor has been to design a harmonious, impressive room, in a style permeated with history and romance; a place which, of all others, will stand out clearly in

2145-654: The largest potato recorded Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: An Irish Folktale , book by children's author Tomie dePaola Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Big Potato . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Potato&oldid=1226861035 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2210-409: The lead role. It was Laurents' first professional credit. The show's success led to him being hired to write scripts for various radio shows, among them Lux Radio Theater . Laurents' career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in the middle of World War II. Through a series of clerical errors, he never saw battle, but instead was assigned to the U.S. Army Pictorial Service located in

2275-508: The less Jewish-sounding Laurents, "to get a job." After graduating from Cornell University , Laurents took an evening class in radio writing at New York University . William N. Robson , his instructor, a CBS Radio director/producer, submitted his script Now Playing Tomorrow , a comedic fantasy about clairvoyance , to the network, and it was produced in the Columbia Workshop series on January 30, 1939, with Shirley Booth in

2340-804: The location for five separate small schools. Erasmus Hall Academy was founded as a private school by Reverend John H. Livingston and Senator John Vanderbilt in 1786 and became the first secondary school chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. Land was donated by the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church for the building and contributions were collected for “an institution of higher learning,” from leading citizens such as Aaron Burr , Alexander Hamilton , Peter Lefferts and Robert Livingston . The wood-framed, clapboard-sided , Georgian and Federal style school building, two and one-half stories tall with hipped roof ,

2405-419: The loving memory of the student in after years for his alma mater. Its walls, columns and arches should bear the trophies won in athletic and scholastic contests, there to be preserved and handed down as part of the glorious history of the school. There have been no designs made for this elevation (Bedford Avenue), but the aim has been to have a central tower on the same axis as that on Flatbush Avenue, through

2470-428: The main one. In 1909, the Board of Education approved Snyder's plans for the next section of the school. This group of three buildings, including one to the north of the tower facing Flatbush Avenue, and two extending east along the northern side of the lot, comprised 31 classrooms, laboratories, study hall, music, drawing, physics, lecture and shop rooms. When this Church Avenue addition opened in September 1911, there

2535-491: The material, declined the offers. Laurents also scripted Anastasia (1956) and Bonjour Tristesse (1958). The Way We Were (1973), in which he incorporated many of his own experiences, particularly those with the HUAC, reunited him with Barbra Streisand, and The Turning Point (1977), inspired in part by his love for Nora Kaye, was directed by her husband Herbert Ross . The Fox animated feature film Anastasia (1997)

2600-446: The new building contains only twelve classrooms, accommodating only 420 pupils, whereas there are fifty-two classes, comprising 1,591 pupils, occupying classrooms in the old frame school building and cottages, all of which are utterly unfit for use. The Superintendent's Annual Report for 1910 reported that 3,114 pupils were enrolled at Erasmus Hall High School and that they were accommodated in four different annex buildings in addition to

2665-473: The offices of the principal of the school, two classrooms and the auditorium. The second story will contain a library 40 feet (12 m) square with a gallery facing the second story of the tower, the balance of the floor being apportioned to the gallery of the auditorium, four classrooms, teacher's rooms, toilets, etc. The third floor will contain four classrooms, demonstration room, balance room, chemical laboratory, and lecture room. The fourth story, which

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2730-529: The old structure was begun by the Works Progress Administration, but was halted due to the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the relocation and restoration of the old building was completed and it was used for administrative offices. In 1987, in celebration of the school's bicentennial, limited archaeological excavations were conducted under the auspices of Brooklyn College . The archaeologists discovered that intact deposits from

2795-530: The original script and all his notes and rewritten pages after completing the project, Laurents had no way to prove most of the work was his, and the Writers Guild of America denied him screen credit. Brand later confessed he and Partos had copied scenes written by Laurents and apologized for his role in the deception. Four decades later, Laurents learned he was ineligible for WGA health benefits because he had failed to accumulate enough credits to qualify. He

2860-403: The passage and enforcement of a compulsory education law and the appreciation by more parents of the advantages of higher education to their children. In April 1924, the Board of Education approved the Bedford Avenue addition to Erasmus Hall High School. Snyder had left his position with the Board of Education shortly before construction of this section, but an elevation drawing in the collection of

2925-466: The project, however, and the musical was ultimately produced with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee . When Robbins approached Paramount Pictures about directing a screen version, the studio agreed as long as Laurents was not part of the package. It was only then that Laurents learned he officially had been blacklisted , primarily because a review of Home of the Brave had been published in

2990-494: The purchase of several nearby buildings. In 1904, the Board of Education began a new building campaign to meet the needs of the burgeoning student population. The Superintendent of School Buildings, architect C. B. J. Snyder , designed a series of buildings to be constructed as needed, around an open quadrangle, while continuing to use the old building in the center of the courtyard. The original Academy building, which still stands in

3055-503: The purview of the New York City school board. This board had to cope with a sizable number of independently administered school districts, each with its own curricula, grade divisions, educational policies, and standards, and weld them all into a single, uniform educational system. At the same time, New York City was experiencing a huge influx of immigrants (increasing the school registers between 1900 and 1904 by 132,000 pupils), and

3120-500: The scheme for a building commanding a quadrangle, and will be built upon as soon as the school is in need of additional accommodations. Although the first section of the new building brought the total students accommodated in 1906 to 1,750, by 1907 Erasmus Hall was again overcrowded, requiring the use of an annex at P.S. 42. In his annual report, the Superintendent of Schools declared that, The largest growth in high schools

3185-634: The schools were expected to help Americanize these new students. New high schools were needed in all the boroughs and the Board of Education authorized large new buildings for Morris High School in the Bronx , DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx , Curtis High School in Staten Island , Flushing High School in Queens , and Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. In the interim, however, before

3250-534: The so-called Gothic movement, from the Round Arch to the Flamboyant and on through its later transitional stage. The Committee on Buildings described the first section, estimated to cost not more than $ 300,000, this way: It consists of an entrance tower which will be the center of what will afterwards be the completed front on Flatbush avenue; to the left of the tower and connected therewith has been placed

3315-456: The supervision of the school system's then chief architect, Eric Kebbon, the five-story building was an even more simplified version of Snyder's earlier work. It contained many classrooms, art and homemaking rooms, a girls' gym and a large library, and could accommodate 1,566 additional pupils. The new section opened in September 1940. To construct this building, the original frame school house had to be moved and its several wings demolished. Work on

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3380-459: The total to about 10%. Laurents' first Hollywood experience proved to be a frustrating disappointment. Director Anatole Litvak , unhappy with the script submitted by Frank Partos and Millen Brand for The Snake Pit (1948), hired Laurents to rewrite it. Partos and Brand later insisted the bulk of the shooting script was theirs, and produced carbon copies of many of the pages Laurents actually had written to bolster their claim. Having destroyed

3445-448: The two later buildings supervised by William H. Gompert and Eric Kebbon , respectively. Its buff brick facades have limestone and terra cotta trim and feature central entrance towers with Oriel windows and crenellated parapets , Tudor-arched entrances, label moldings , and large window groupings. The style of Erasmus Hall evolved over the years so that the most recent buildings are simpler, with less ornamentation, but retain

3510-429: Was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn . It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Academy , a private institution of higher learning named for the scholar Desiderius Erasmus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Dutch Renaissance humanist and Catholic Christian theologian . The school

3575-520: Was an aspiring actor whom Gore Vidal suggested Laurents seek out at the Beverly Hills men's clothing store Hatcher was managing at the time. The couple remained together for 52 years until Hatcher's death on October 26, 2006. Laurents wrote Mainly on Directing: Gypsy, West Side Story and Other Musicals , published in 2009, in which he discussed musicals he directed and the work of other directors he admired. His last memoir titled The Rest of

3640-409: Was an excellent apprenticeship for a budding playwright and screenwriter. He also had the good fortune to be based in New York City. His first stage play, Home of the Brave , was produced in 1945. The sale of the play to a film studio gave Laurents the entrée he needed to become a Hollywood screenwriter though he continued, with mixed success, to write plays. The most important of his early screenplays

3705-703: Was based in part on his screenplay of the live-action 1956 film of the same title. Because of a casual remark made by Russel Crouse , Laurents was called to Washington, D.C., to account for his political views. He explained himself to the House Un-American Activities Committee , and his appearance had no obvious impact on his career, which at the time was primarily in the theatre. When the McCarran Internal Security Act , which prohibited individuals suspected of engaging in subversive activities from obtaining

3770-426: Was established in 2010, The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award. This is awarded annually "for an un-produced, full-length play of social relevance by an emerging American playwright." The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation will give $ 50,000 to the writer with a grant of $ 100,000 towards production costs at a nonprofit theatre. The first award will be given in 2011. Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School

3835-491: Was happy to accept the assignment. His dilemma was how to make the audience aware of the fact the three main characters were homosexual without blatantly saying so. The Hays Office kept close tabs on his work, and the final script was so discreet that Laurents was unsure whether co-star James Stewart ever realized that his character was gay. In later years, Hitchcock asked him to script both Torn Curtain (1966) and Topaz (1969), However, Laurents, in both cases unenthused by

3900-435: Was initially supposed to run until October 1905, but revisions required by the school board for laboratories and classrooms necessitated changes in the electrical and sanitation plans and delayed the work. The building was opened to students in September 1906. In 1906, the committee purchased a real estate lot that was 57' 10" X 138' 9" X 359' 3" X 7' 3" X 493' 6" “adjoining Erasmus Hall High School... to permit carrying out of

3965-447: Was opened in 1787 with 26 students. Through the years, various wings were added to the academy building and later removed. Erasmus Hall Academy began accepting female students in 1801, and in 1803 it incorporated the village school of Flatbush. The village evolved into a city, and started a public school system that competed with Erasmus for its student body. As a result, there was a steady decline in its enrollment until in 1896 enrollment

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4030-462: Was reduced to 150 boys and girls, up from the 105 boys who were registered in the school in 1795. The board of trustees decided to donate the academy to the public school system with the following resolution by the board of trustees : That the Board of Trustees offer the grounds of the Academy to the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn upon the following conditions, viz: In consideration of

4095-606: Was room for 1,451 more students in the main school. The ever-growing school population continued to present challenges to the school board. In his report of May 21, 1924 on construction and maintenance, the Superintendent of Schools discussed "the stupendous building program now being carried on by the Board of Education..." The reason for this situation was given as a backlog of not enough building over several years, as well as an increase in high school population in New York City from 20,948 students in 1904, to 109,370 in 1924. These large numbers were attributed to many factors, including

4160-483: Was short by one, the one he failed to get for The Snake Pit . Upon hearing 20th Century Fox executives were pleased with Laurents' work on The Snake Pit , Alfred Hitchcock hired him for his next project, the film Rope starring James Stewart . Hitchcock wanted Laurents to Americanize the British play Rope (1929) by Patrick Hamilton for the screen. With his then-lover Farley Granger set to star, Laurents

4225-586: Was the first secondary school chartered by the New York State Regents . The clapboard -sided, Georgian - Federal -style building, constructed on land donated by the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church , was turned over to the public school system in 1896. Around the start of the 20th century, Brooklyn experienced a rapidly growing population, and the original small school was enlarged with the addition of several wings and

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