The Time of the Cuckoo - a Comedy by Arthur Laurents

by Arthur Laurents

Two act comedy written by Arthur Laurents first presented at the Empire Theater, New York City, 1952

Genres: Plays

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1953

About the author

Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, librettist, stage director, and screenwriter. His credits included the stage musicals West Side Story and Gypsy and the film The Way We Were.

Reviews

[David Sterritt]

Arthur Laurents was well into his career as a playwright when he wrote “The Time of the Cuckoo,” which opened on Broadway in 1952 and is still quite interesting to read. Its off-putting title notwithstanding, it’s a nuanced and intelligent comedy with some well-drawn characters and a bittersweet view of American tourists poking around in Europe with hopes of somehow enhancing their very imperfect lives. It was the basis for David Lean’s scrumptious “Summertime” a little later in the ‘50s, but the play itself holds up nicely on the page.

[William Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summertime, David Lean’s film version, reimagines the play in a better form I think. For the stage, it’s great, though. Well constructed and bittersweet. Shirley Booth was quite an accomplished stage actress even though she’s mostly known for the sitcom Hazel now. The play is more explicit about the secondary artist character’s affairs, which the film has to censor during the production code. Overall I think the film is better dramatically, while trimming down several characters’ parts.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents – you find hundreds of reviews, in fact, soon to be over one thousand on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... but if we include the older one, then there are more than five thousand, not that it is of interest



7 out of 10

Leona Samish is the main character of this play, and I have identified with her to some extent, she is single, and though this is not my legal state, I have less of a partner than she had, and this is the moment when

- You should stop reading

That was a spoiler alert, not that I reveal secrets from the plot, but that I will wrote about other things, after giving my verdict – this is not spectacular, and it all depends on the mood, and the degree to which you see yourself in Leona, or others in the story, at least this is how I see it, in general, and especially here

The Paradox od Choice https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... is a psychology classic by Barry Schwartz, which explains to readers, among other things, that

- There are two types of humans, satisfizers and maximizers

The time of The Cuckoo therefore, like any other creation of decent quality, thus depends also on what kind of a reader, or member of the audience you are, I have seen this adapted as Summertime, with Katherine Hepburn in the leading role
She travels to Italy, Venice, enjoys the city, canals, art, people, but she is single, and The Time of The Cuckoo seems to refer to the companion, would be partner she finds in this Dolce Vita https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... who is actually married

- With children

He is happy, and would be all in for an affair, at least it seemed so to me – now there is the period, time when I see myself in this guy, not the happy part, but having a consort, of sorts, legally, for the time being
It is more – here, not in the play – of a suitable arrangement, what with having two macaws, and a kind of system to care for them in turn, it is just that this blows up, once in a while, just like it did a couple of hours ago

I was notified, in fact I have asked from the supermarket what is the plan, to know what to get from there, that the spouse and daughter are leaving tomorrow, again, just like they did for the past days, three times in ten days
This means that I am left with Puccini and Balzac, the macaws, all day long, and they are too much to handle in the circumstances, when they scream, it is for the sound to travel for miles, and it blows my mind

So I run with a broom for Balzac, he is the culprit for most of the time, before I die of a heart attack, I may be dead, before this can be posted, like with those maniacs, and the madame threatens me with Fire and Fury https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... and more

In the Blink https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... of an eye you know About this work, and other things

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Bruce Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, not amazing - only read it because it takes place in Venice and there is some Italian dialogue... I believe I may have seen the film based on the play (Summertime) with Katherine Hepburn.