Lanford Wilson Biography (1937-)

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; andBest 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

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