Last modified on Mon 12 Apr 2021 13.35 EDT It was the fate of Arthur Kopit, who has died aged 83 from progressive dementia, to be labelled in theatrical dictionaries as a serious and inventive playwright who rarely achieved popular acceptance. His biggest success came as the librettist of the Broadway musical Nine (1982) – a classy elaboration of Fellini’s classic movie 8½ – with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. But he made his name as a shooting star in the off-Broadway theatre of the early 1960s alongside Edward Albee, Jack Gelber and the Living Theatre, placing his marker with the outrageous, surreal Freudian capriccio Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Bad (directed by Jerome Robbins and starring Hermione Gingold and the newcomer Sam Waterston).