Lanford Wilson, Vol. 1: Collected Plays, 1965-1970 (Contemporary American Playwrights) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Noted playwrite Wilson (Collected Plays. Vol. 1: 21 Short Plays, LJ 1/94), a native son of the Ozark town of Lebanon, Missouri, has much to say about American places?from Midwest ghost towns, to Southern California, to New York's Greenwich Village?and the people who inhabit them. We meet pimps and prostitutes (male and female), dysfunctional families, an interracial couple in the process of breaking up, and others living on the fringes of society. Many of the situations and events are autobiographical, as Wilson speaks to us about America and its dying dreams of freedom, equality, and prosperity for all. All five of these plays?Balm in Gilead, Rimers of Eldritch, The Gingham Dog, Lemon Sky, and The Sand Castle?have been presented off Broadway to critical acclaim. This thought-provoking collection belongs in every high school, academic, and public library with a modern drama collection. Highly recommended.?Howard E. Miller, formerly with Alliance Blue Cross & Blue Shield Lib., St. Louis
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

From the beginning, Lanford Wilson has had a fabulous ear for American dialogue--not merely American speech, but the way Americans converse in fragmentary, machine-gun bursts or in long, lonely, digressive monologues that everyone else only half listens to. It didn't matter whether Wilson was creating a quiet or noisy moment: he could conjure the mood in a line or two or even in just a pause. This gift and the knack for recognizable but unstereotypical characterization helped Wilson step easily from scruffy, small-cast one-acts to longer works requiring more actors, space, and rehearsal. In his first produced long play, the 24-character slice of New York's lower depths Balm in Gilead (1965), Wilson handled dialogue like a master, overlapping junkie rants and hustler complaints with a confidence that belied his youth. This collection includes five early long plays, from Balm in Gilead to Lemon Sky (1970). While Wilson introduces each autobiographically, a reverential essay by Village Voice critic Michael Feingold introduces them all. Jack Helbig

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Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157525025X
• ISBN-13: 978-1575250250
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #411,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilson's early plays are among American theatre's best., October 9, 1998

By	Jeffrey Sweet "Jeffrey Sweet" (NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I teach playwriting. Not long ago, I had a roomful of students watching the splendid video version of his LEMON SKY. They were wiped out. I was stunned that they hadn't encountered the play before. For more than thirty years, Lanford Wilson has been quietly building a catalogue of writing that has few equals in the American theatre. From early work such as LEMON SKY, BALM IN GILEAD, HOT L BALTIMORE and FIFTH OF JULY to the recent SYMPATHETIC MAGIC, he has maintained an extraordinary record of charting the subtext of America. I can't think of another American writer who has reflected more of this country's voices and concerns. This book is a swell introduction to him.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too bad there are no do-overs...., May 6, 2007

By	Kenneth Wolman (Sea Bright, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was supposed to be in the original OB cast of The Rimers of Eldritch back in 1964. Unfortunately I couldn't "get" the play and Lance Wilson fired me about two weeks before the opening at Cafe La Mama. He was right--I stank. Later I came to the play as a reader and simply wish there were do-overs. It's a wonder of dramaturgy and character, as complex as a piece of chamber music and every bit as fulfilling. Lanford, you done good.