Lanford Wilson Biography (1937-) (original) (raw)

1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Titus Welliver to Peter Wingfield

Born April 13, 1937, in Lebanon, MO; son of Ralph Eugene and Violetta Careybelle (maiden name, Tate) Wilson. Addresses: Agent: International Creative Management, 40 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019.; Office: P.O. Box 891, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Playwright, actor, director, designer

Birth Details

April 13, 1937

Lebanon, Missouri, United States

Famous Works

• WRITINGS
• Plays
• So Long at the Fair, produced at Caffe Cino, New York City, 1963
• No Trespassing, produced at Caffe Cino, 1964
• Home Free!, produced at Caffe Cino, 1964, published with The Madness of Lady Bright, Methuen, 1968
• The Madness of Lady Bright (one-act), produced at Caffe Cino, 1964, published with Home Free!, Methuen, 1968
• Balm in Gilead (two-act), produced at Cafe La MaMa, New York City,1965
• Ludlow Fair (one-act), produced at Caffe Cino, 1965
• This Is the Rill Speaking, produced at Caffe Cino, 1965
• The Sand Castle (one-act), produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York City, 1965
• Days Ahead (one-act), produced at Caffe Cino, 1965
• Sex Is between Two People (one-act), produced at Caffe Cino, 1965
• The Rimers of Eldritch (two-act), produced at Cafe La MaMa, 1966
• Wandering: A Turn (one-act), produced at Caffe Cino, 1966
• Miss Williams: A Turn, produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, 1967
• Untitled Play, produced at Judson Poets' Theatre, New York City, 1968
• The Gingham Dog (two-act), produced at Washington Theatre Club, Washington, DC, 1968, then John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1969, publishedby Hill & Wang, 1969
• Lemon Sky (two-act), produced in Waterford, CT, 1968, then Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1970, published by Hill & Wang, 1970
• Serenading Louie (two-act), produced at Washington Theatre Club, 1970, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1976
• One Arm (based on a story by Tennessee Williams), 1970
• Sextet (Yes): A Play for Voices (one-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1971
• The Great Nebula in Orion (one-act), produced in Manchester, England, then Circle Repertory Theatre, both 1971
• (Author of libretto) Summer and Smoke (opera), produced in St. Paul, MN, 1971, then produced at New York City Opera, New York City, 1972, published by Belwin-Mills, 1972
• Ikke, Ikke, Nye, Nye, Nye (one-act), produced in New Haven, CT, then produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, both 1972
• The Family Continues (one-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1972
• The Hot l Baltimore, produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1973, published by Hill & Wang, 1973
• The Mound Builders (two-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1975, published by Hill & Wang, 1976
• Brontosaurus (one-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1977, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1978
• Fifth of July (two-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1978, then Broadway, 1980, published by Hill & Wang, 1978
• Talley's Folly (two-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1979, then Broadway, 1980, published by Hill & Wang, 1979
• Talley & Son (two-act), produced as A Tale Told, CircleRepertory Theatre, 1981, produced as Talley & Son, New York City,1985, published by Hill & Wang, 1986
• Thymus Vulgaris (one-act), produced in Los Angeles, then producedat Circle Repertory Theatre, both 1981, published by Dramatists Play Service,1982
• Angels Fall, produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1982, publishedby Hill & Wang, 1982
• A Betrothal (one-act), produced in London, 1986, then Sanford Meisner Theatre, New York City, 1987, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1986
• Sa-Hurt?, 1986
• Say de Kooning (one-act), produced at Sanford Meisner Theatre, 1987
• The Bottle Harp (one-act), produced at Sanford Meisner Theatre, 1987
• Burn This, produced at Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, then CircleRepertory Theatre, both 1987, published by Hill & Wang, 1987
• A Poster of the Cosmos, produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York City, 1988, published with The Moonshot Tape, Dramatists Play Service, 1990
• Abstinence: A Turn, published in 1989
• The Moonshot Tape, produced, 1990, published with A Poster of the Cosmos, Dramatists Play Service, 1990
• Redwood Curtain, produced, 1991, then produced at Brooks AtkinsonTheatre, New York City, 1993, published by Hill & Wang, 1992
• Trinity, produced, 1993
• I'm Not the Ocean, produced, 1995
• Master Class, produced by Circle Repertory Company, New York City,1995-1997
• Sympathetic Magic, produced at Second Stage, New York City, 1995
• By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1996
• Virgil Is Still the Frogboy, produced, 1996
• (Translator) Anton Chekhov, The Three Sisters, produced at Roundabout Theatre, New York City, 1997
• Book of Days, produced at Purple Rose Theater, Chelsea, MI, 1998,then Peter Norton Space, 2002
• Rain Dance, produced at Purple Rose Theater, 2001
• Burn This, produced by Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, New York City, 2002
• Television
• This Is the Rill Speaking, 1967
• "Stoop: A Turn" in "Foul," New York Television Theatre, 1969
• (With Tennessee Williams) "The Migrants" (movie; based on his play of thesame title), Playhouse 90, CBS, 1973
• "Taxi" (special), Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1978
• Fifth of July (special; based on his play of the same title), Showtime, 1982
• "Lemon Sky" (special; based on his play of the same title), American Playhouse, PBS, 1988
• Liza Minnelli in Sam Found Out: A Triple Play, Part 1 (special; also known as Sam Found Out: A Triple Play), ABC, 1988
• Also author of The Sandcastle.
• Play Collections
• Balm in Gilead and Other Plays (includes Balm in Gilead, Ludlow Fair, and Home Free!), Hill & Wang, 1965
• The Rimers of Eldritch and Other Plays (includes Days Ahead, This Is the Rill Speaking, The Madness of Lady Bright, TheRimers of Eldritch, and Wandering: A Turn), Hill & Wang, 1967
• The Sand Castle and Three Other Plays (contains The Sand Castle, Sextet (Yes): A Play for Voices, Wandering: A Turn, and Stoop: A Turn), Dramatists Play Service, 1970
• The Great Nebula in Orion and Three Other Plays (contains The Great Nebula in Orion, Ikke, Ikke, Nye, Nye, Nye, The Family Continues, and Victory on Mrs. Dandywine's Island), Dramatists Play Service, 1973
• Four Short Plays (contains Days Ahead, The Madness of Lady Bright, This Is the Rill Speaking, and Say de Kooning),Dramatists Play Service, 1994
• Lanford Wilson: Collected Plays, Volume 1: Twenty-One Short Plays, 1994, Volume 2: The Early Plays, 1965-1970, Smith & Kraus,1996
• Work represented in anthologies, including Eight Plays from Off-Off-Broadway, edited by Nick Orzel and Michael Smith, Bobbs-Merrill, 1966; and_Best American Plays of 1967-73,_ edited by John Gassner.

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

• Several of Lanford's plays have been adapted for television, including The Rimers of Eldritch, Wandering, and _The Mound Builders._The play The Hot l Baltimore was adapted for a television series, broadcast by ABC, 1975; Redwood Curtain was adapted for a television movie, broadcast as a special presentation, Hallmark Hall of Fame, ABC, 1995.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Barnett, Gene A., Lanford Wilson, Twayne, 1987
• Bryer, Jackson R., Lanford Wilson: A Casebook, Garland Publishing,1994
• Contemporary Dramatists, 6th ed., 1999
• Contemporary Literary Criticism, Gale, Volume 14, 1980, pp. 590-593, Volume 36, 1986, pp. 458-466
• Dean, Anne, Discovery and Invention: The Urban Plays of Lanford Wilson, Associated University Presses, 1994
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 7: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Gale, 1981, pp. 350-368
• Williams, Philip Middleton, A Comfortable House, McFarland and Co., 1993

Periodicals

• Playbill, November 30, 2002