View source for Lanford Wilson

{{short description|American playwright (1937–2011)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Lanford Wilson
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1937|4|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Lebanon, Missouri]], US
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2011|3|24|1937|4|13|mf=y}}
| death_place      = [[Wayne, New Jersey]], US
| period           = 1964–2006
| education        = [[Missouri State University]]<br>[[San Diego State University]]
| awards           = [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] (1980)<br>Artistic Achievement Award from the [[New York Innovative Theatre Awards]] (2010)
| image            = Lanford Wilson by Frederick Eberstadt.png
| caption          = Wilson {{circa|1973}}
}}
'''Lanford Wilson''' (April 13, 1937{{spaced ndash}}March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''[[The New York Times]]'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired [and] widely performed".<ref name="NYTimes1">[[Margalit Fox|Fox, Margalit]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/theater/lanford-wilson-pulitzer-prize-winning-playwright-dies-at-73.html "Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright, Dies at 73"] ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 24, 2011.</ref> Wilson helped to advance the [[off-off-Broadway]] theater movement with his earliest plays, which were first produced at the [[Caffe Cino]] beginning in 1964. He was one of the first playwrights to move from off-off-Broadway to [[off-Broadway]], then [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and beyond.

Wilson was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in Drama & Performance Art in 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lanford Wilson – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation… |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/lanford-wilson/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |language=en}}</ref> He received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] in 1980 and was elected in 2001 to the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]]. In 2004, Wilson was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] and received the [[PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award]] as a Master American Dramatist. He was nominated for three [[Tony Awards]] and has won a [[Drama Desk Award]] and five [[Obie Award]]s.

Wilson's 1964 short play ''[[The Madness of Lady Bright]]'' was his first major success and led to further works throughout the 1960s that expressed a variety of social and romantic themes. In 1969, he co-founded the [[Circle Repertory Company]] with theatre director [[Marshall W. Mason]]. He wrote many plays for the Circle Repertory in the 1970s. His 1973 play ''[[The Hot l Baltimore]]'' was the company's first major success with both audiences and critics. The off-Broadway production exceeded 1,000 performances.

His play ''[[Fifth of July (play)|Fifth of July]]'' was first produced at Circle Repertory in 1978. He received a Tony Award nomination for its Broadway production, which opened in 1980. A prequel to ''Fifth of July'' called ''[[Talley's Folly]]'' (opened 1979 at Circle Repertory) opened on Broadway before ''Fifth of July'' and won Wilson the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and his first Tony nomination. ''[[Burn This]]'' (1987) was another Broadway success. Wilson also wrote the [[libretto|libretti]] for several operas.

==Childhood and education==
Wilson was born to Ralph Eugene and Violetta Tate Wilson in [[Lebanon, Missouri]]. After his parents divorced when he was 5, he moved with his mother to [[Springfield, Missouri]], where they lived until she remarried.<ref name="donshewey.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.donshewey.com/theater_articles/lanford_wilson.html|title=Lanford Wilson|website=Don Shewey}}</ref> When he was 11, his mother married Walt E. Lenhard, a farmer from [[Ozark, Missouri]], and they both moved in with him. He had two half-brothers, John and Jim, and one stepsister, Judy.<ref name=NYTimes1/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/bookcol/wilson/|title=L. Wilson|publisher=University of Missouri Library|access-date=2015-09-03|archive-date=2015-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906084740/http://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/bookcol/wilson/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Barnett2">Barnett, p.&nbsp;2.</ref> He attended high school in Ozark and developed a love for film and art.<ref name="Dean">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ze0Gkixlct4C&q=lanford+wilson+interview&pg=PA126|title=Discovery and Invention: The Urban Plays of Lanford Wilson|last=Dean|first=Anne|date=December 30, 2015|isbn=9780838635483|page=15|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> As a child, Wilson enjoyed writing short stories and going to see plays performed at Southwest Missouri State College (now [[Missouri State University]]).<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;1.</ref> A production of ''[[Brigadoon]]'' had a particularly resounding effect on Wilson, saying that "after that town came back to life on stage, movies didn't stand a chance".<ref>Dean, p.&nbsp;16.</ref> He developed an interest in acting and performed in his high school plays, including the role of Tom in ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' by [[Tennessee Williams]].<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;51.</ref>

After graduating from [[Ozark High School (Missouri)|Ozark High School]] in 1955, Wilson began his collegiate studies at Southwest Missouri State College.<ref name="BarnettChrono">Barnett, ''Chronology''.</ref> In 1956, he moved to San Diego, where his father had relocated after his parents' divorce.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/la-me-lanford-wilson-20110325-story.html|title=Lanford Wilson dies at 73; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright|author=Jones, Chris|date=March 25, 2011|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref name=Barnett2/> He studied art and art history at [[San Diego State University|San Diego State College]] as well as worked as a riveter at the Ryan Aircraft Plant.<ref>Barnett, pp.&nbsp;2–3.</ref> His reunion with his father was difficult, but the relationship improved in later years, and Wilson based his play ''[[Lemon Sky]]'' on their relationship.<ref name="NYTimes1"/> Wilson left college and moved to [[Chicago]] in 1957, where he worked as a graphic artist for an advertising firm.<ref name=BarnettChrono/> During this time, Wilson realized that the short stories he had always enjoyed writing would be more effective as plays, and began to study playwriting at the [[University of Chicago]] [[extension program]].<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;3.</ref><ref name=":0" />

==Early work (1962–1968)==
In 1962, Wilson moved to [[Greenwich Village]] in New York City. He worked in odd jobs, such as a temporary typist, a reservations clerk at [[Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel|Americana Hotel]], at the complaint desk of a furniture store, and at a dishwashing job where a co-worker incorrectly called him "Lance".<ref>Dean, p.&nbsp;17</ref> After that, Wilson's friends all called him by that name.<ref name="donshewey.com"/> Wilson eventually worked for the subscription office of the [[Shakespeare in the Park (New York City)|New York Shakespeare Festival]].<ref name="Dean, p.18">Dean, p.&nbsp;18.</ref>

Wilson first encountered the [[Caffe Cino]] when he went to see [[Eugène Ionesco]]'s ''[[The Lesson]]''. The experience left him thinking that theatre "could be both dangerous and funny in that way at the same time".<ref name="Dean, p.18"/> After the show, Wilson introduced himself to Cino co-founder and producer [[Joe Cino]], a pioneer of the off-off-Broadway movement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://caffecino.wordpress.com/1939/01/01/lanford-wilson/|title=Lanford Wilson: The Mozart From Missouri|work=Caffe Cino Pictures|access-date=August 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Williams, p.&nbsp;17.</ref><ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;4.</ref> Cino encouraged Wilson to submit a play to the Cino. In Cino, Wilson found a mentor who would not only critique his plays, but also stage them.<ref name="Dean, p.18"/>

Wilson's first play to premiere at Cino was ''So Long at the Fair'', in August 1963.<ref name="Dean, p.18"/> His works for Caffe Cino include ''[[Ludlow Fair]]'' (originally titled ''Nail Polish and Tampons''), ''[[Home Free!]]'', and ''[[The Madness of Lady Bright]]''. He continued working odd jobs to support himself during these early years.<ref>Busby, p.&nbsp;8.</ref> ''The Madness of Lady Bright'' premiered at Caffe Cino in May&nbsp;1964. The play concerns "Lady" Bright, who is a forty-year-old "screaming preening queen". On a sultry summer day in the 1960s, while in his apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, "Lady" Bright slowly loses his mind. It is a complex and comic tragedy of striking originality, and one of Wilson's most notable and finest works. At its heart, the work is a penetrating study of loneliness and isolation. It was one of off-off-Broadway's first significant successes, running for over 200 performances.<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;14.</ref><ref name="Barnett5">Barnett, p.&nbsp;5.</ref> ''The Madness of Lady Bright'' set a record as the longest-running play at Caffe Cino.<ref name="Busby, p">Busby.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glreview.org/article/1964-the-birth-of-gay-theater/|title=1964 – The birth of gay theater|last=Blaney|first=Darren|date=December 29, 2013|website=[[Gay & Lesbian Review]]|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref>

In 1965, Wilson began writing plays for [[Ellen Stewart]]'s [[La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club]] in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]].<ref name=Barnett5/> His first full-length plays premiered at La MaMa, including ''[[Balm in Gilead]]'', which depicted a doomed romance in an urban greasy spoon diner inhabited by junkies, prostitutes and thieves.<ref name=Barnett5 /><ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;19.</ref> ''Balm in Gilead'' premiered at La MaMa in 1965, directed by [[Marshall W. Mason]].<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/144 "Production: ''Balm in Gilead'' (1965)".]</ref> The play was revived in 1984 by [[Circle Repertory Company]] and the [[Steppenwolf Theatre Company]], and directed by [[John Malkovich]].<ref>[[Henry Schvey|Schvey, Henry I]]. "Heathcliff in Manhattan: Fire and Ice in Lanford Wilson's ''Burn This''" in {{harvnb|Bryer|1994|pp=151–160}}</ref><ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/182 "Production: ''Balm in Gilead'' (Circle Rep)".]</ref> Later in 1965, Wilson wrote and directed ''Miss Williams'' for a [[benefit performance]] at La MaMa called "BbAaNnGg!".<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/250 "Special Event: 'BbAaNnGg!'".]</ref>

In 1965, Wilson's plays ''Home Free!'' and ''No Trespassing'' were produced for La MaMa Repertory Troupe's first European tour.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/3162 "Production: ''Home Free!'' and ''No Trespassing'' (1965)".]</ref> His play ''This is the Rill Speaking'' was produced alongside [[Jean-Claude van Itallie]]'s ''War'' and [[Rochelle Owens]]' ''Homo'' for La MaMa Repertory Troupe's second European tour, in 1966.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2994 "Production: ''War'', ''This is the Rill Speaking'', and ''Homo'' in Durham, UK (1966)".]</ref> His play ''Untitled'' was produced with work by [[Sam Shepard]], [[Tom Eyen]], [[Leonard Melfi]], [[Paul Foster (playwright)|Paul Foster]], and Owens, all directed by [[Tom O'Horgan]], for La MaMa Repertory Troupe's third European tour, in 1967.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2921 "Production: '6 Pieces from off-off-Broadway' (Frankfurt, 1967)". ]</ref> In addition to writing his own plays at La MaMa, Wilson did set design for work by other playwrights. In 1966, he designed the set for Foster's ''The Madonna in the Orchard'', directed by O'Horgan at La MaMa.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/334 "Production: ''Madonna in the Orchard, The'' (1966)". ]</ref> He then designed the set for Donald Julian's ''In Praise of Folly'', directed by Mason at La MaMa in 1969.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/608 "Production: ''In Praise of Folly'' (1969)".]</ref>

Wilson's play ''The Sand Castle'' was first produced at La MaMa in 1965, as directed by Mason,<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/198 "Production: ''The Sand Castle'' (1965)". ]</ref> and was again directed by Mason at La MaMa in 1967.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/210 "Production: ''The Sand Castle'' (1967)".]</ref> Wilson participated in the inaugural National Playwrights Conference in 1965 at the [[Eugene O'Neill Theater Center]] along with [[Sam Shepard]], [[Edward Albee]], and [[John Guare]]. His 1966 play ''[[The Rimers of Eldritch]]'' addressed hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness in a small town in the rural Midwest and won the 1966/1967 [[Drama Desk Award|Drama Desk Vernon Rice Award]] for contribution to off-Broadway theatre.<ref>Busby, pp.&nbsp;9, 22.</ref> It was first produced at La MaMa in 1966, under Wilson's direction.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/335 "Production: ''The Rimers of Eldritch'' (1966)".]</ref> Wilson directed a revival of ''The Rimers of Eldritch'' at La MaMa in 1981 in celebration of the theater's 20-year anniversary.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org//Detail/Occurrences/2360 "Production: ''The Rimers of Eldritch'' (1981)". ]</ref>

''The Rimers of Eldritch'' was followed by ''The Gingham Dog'' (1968) about the breakup of an interracial couple.<ref>Barnett, pp.&nbsp;42–43.</ref> He returned to the O'Neill Theater Center to develop ''[[Lemon Sky]]'' in 1968. Wilson described ''Lemon Sky'' (1968) as "directly autobiographical". The play's narrator Alan, Wilson's representation of himself, describes his attempt to reconcile with his long-absent father. They fail to meet each other's expectations, and Alan leaves disillusioned by his father's authoritarianism and narrow-mindedness.<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;49.</ref>

==Circle Repertory Company and later work (1969–2011) ==
[[File:Lee Taylor-Allen & Kenneth Boys.jpg|thumb|A scene from the 1986 New York revival of ''[[Home Free!]]'']]
In 1969, Wilson co-founded the [[Circle Repertory Company]] with [[Marshall W. Mason]], [[Tanya Berezin]], and Rob Thirkield. Many of Wilson's plays were first produced at the Circle Repertory and directed by Mason.<ref>Williams, p.&nbsp;25.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134855822/for-lanford-wilson-the-plays-were-always-personal|title=For Lanford Wilson, the plays were always personal|author=Lunden, Jeff|date=March 25, 2011|work=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Also in 1969, Wilson was hired for $5,000 to adapt [[Tennessee Williams]]' short story ''One Arm'', about a male hustler, into a screenplay. The day after he finished the screenplay, he was invited to a preview of ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'', and after seeing the film thought "there went that idea down the drain".<ref name="donshewey.com"/>

His first plays at Circle Repertory, ''The Great Nebula in Orion'', ''Ikke, Ikke, Nye, Nye, Nye'', and ''The Family Continues'', premiered in 1972.<ref>Williams, p.&nbsp;28.</ref>  ''[[The Hot l Baltimore]]'', about lowlifes who face eviction when the decaying hotel in which they live is to be demolished, opened in 1973 and was Circle Repertory's first commercial success. The play also won the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award and an [[Obie Award]].<ref name="Williams3134">Williams, pp.&nbsp;31–34.</ref> It then transferred off-Broadway to the [[Circle in the Square Theatre]] and ran for 1,166&nbsp;performances.<ref name="Barnett8586">Barnett, pp.&nbsp;85–86.</ref> ''The Hot l Baltimore'' was adapted into a [[Hot l Baltimore|short-lived television series]] by ABC in 1975, which Wilson pronounced "a disaster".<ref name=Williams3134/><ref name=Barnett8586/>

In 1974, Wilson acted in Circle Repertory's production of [[E. E. Cummings]]' ''[[Him (Cummings play)|Him]]'' under the direction of Marshal Oglesby.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Theatre of E. E. Cummings|year=2013|last=Cummings|first=E. E.|author-link=E. E. Cummings|publisher=[[Liveright]]|editor-last=Firmage|editor-first=George James|page=210|isbn=978-0871406545}}</ref> In 1975, Wilson's ''The Mound Builders'', which ''[[The New York Times]]'' described as Wilson's "most ambitious work", premiered at Circle Rep.<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;94.</ref> The play concerned an ill-fated archeological dig in the Midwest, and, thematically, contemplated the futility of man's achievements.<ref>Barnett, p. 100–101.</ref> Circle Repertory then produced Wilson's ''[[Serenading Louie]]'' in 1976. The play had been unsuccessfully performed in 1970 by the Washington Theater Club, and Wilson revised it for Circle Repertory's production, which is generally regarded as its official premiere.<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;68.</ref>

Sexual identity is among the themes that Wilson explored in his plays.<ref name="NYTimes1" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Lanford Wilson, ''Burn This'' playwright, dies at 73 |url=https://variety.com/2011/scene/people-news/lanford-wilson-burn-this-playwright-dies-at-73-1118034376/ |work=Variety |date=March 24, 2011}}</ref> The theme appears in ''The Madness of Lady Bright'', ''Lemon Sky'', ''Fifth of July'', and ''[[Burn This]]''. In ''Fifth of July'', a Broadway hit in 1980–1982, members of the Talley family decide whether to sell the family farmhouse in Missouri. The story centers on Ken Talley, a disabled Vietnam veteran, and his lover Jed, who are living in the house.<ref>Barnett, pp.&nbsp;109–110.</ref> Wilson was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Play]] for ''Fifth of July''.<ref name="Kennedy">{{cite web|url=http://www.backstage.com/bso/content_display/news-and-features/e3i9343b011681a9d0d67eead562686e1c6|title=Tony award-winning playwright Lanford Wilson dies|last=Kennedy|first=Mark|date=March 24, 2011|work=[[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]]|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> After ''Fifth of July'', Wilson wrote ''[[Talley's Folly]]'' (1979), a two-person play depicting the Midwesterner Sally Talley and Jewish Matt Friedman falling in love and become engaged despite the objections of Sally's narrow-minded family.<ref>Busby, p.&nbsp;39.</ref><ref>Martine, James J. "Charlotte's Daughters: Changing Gender Roles and Family Structures in Lanford Wilson" in {{harvnb|Bryer|1994|pp=37–63}}</ref> ''[[Talley & Son]]'' premiered as ''A Tale Told'' in 1981 but was rewritten and renamed when it opened in 1985.<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;141.</ref> Both are prequels set 30 years prior to ''Fifth of July''.<ref>Barnett, pp. 107–108.</ref> ''[[Talley's Folly]]'' was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] in 1980 and received a nomination for the [[Tony Award for Best Play]].<ref>Barnett, p.&nbsp;118.</ref> Around this time, [[Norman Mailer]] asked Wilson to adapt ''[[The Executioner's Song]]'' for a television movie, but Wilson declined.<ref name="donshewey.com" />

''[[Angels Fall]]'' opened on Broadway in 1983, earning Wilson his third nomination for the Tony Award for Best Play.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4203|title=Angels Fall|website=IBDB|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' review said, "Mr.&nbsp;Wilson is one of the few artists in our theater who can truly make America sing."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/18/theater/play-angels-fall-landford-wilson-s-apocalypse.html|title=Angels Fall, Lanford Wilson's apocalypse|last=Rich|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Rich|date=October 18, 1982|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> In ''[[Burn This]]'', a young gay dancer named Robbie and his lover Dom have died in a boating accident before the play begins. Robbie's roommates, his dance partner Anna and the gay, confident Larry, must come to terms with Robbie's death. Anna learns to be independent and self-confident, pursuing her interest in choreography, beginning a relationship with Robbie's grieving brother Pale, and ending her dispassionate relationship with her longtime boyfriend.<ref>Jacobi, Martin J. "'The Monster Within' in Lanford Wilson's ''Burn This''" in {{harvnb|Bryer|1994|pp=131–149}}</ref>

In addition to writing plays, Wilson wrote the [[Libretto|libretti]] for several operas. He collaborated with composer [[Lee Hoiby]] for ''Summer and Smoke'' (1971) and adapted his own play, ''This is the Rill Speaking'', in 1992.<ref name="Kennedy" /><ref name="ON">{{cite news|url=http://www.operanews.com/operanews/templates/content.aspx?id=19386|title=Lee Hoiby, 85, American opera composer, has died|date=March 28, 2011|newspaper=[[Opera News]]|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> ''Summer and Smoke'' is an adaptation of  [[Tennessee Williams]]' [[Summer and Smoke|play of the same name]]. Williams gave Hoiby permission to compose an opera based on the play, and Hoiby asked Wilson to adapt the play into a libretto.<ref name="Barnett106">Barnett, p.&nbsp;106.</ref> ''This is the Rill Speaking'' is a one-act [[chamber opera]] that Wilson adapted from his own play of the same name.<ref name="ON" /> In 1984, Wilson wrote a new translation of [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]'' for the Hartford Stage Company.<ref name="Londre">Hardison Londré, Felicia. "From Provincial Yearnings to Urban Danger: Lanford Wilson's ''Three Sisters'' and ''Burn This''" in {{harvnb|Bryer|1994|pp=119–130}}</ref> Wilson attempted to make his translation sound like everyday speech, as he believed that existing translations were linguistically accurate but not inherently theatrical.<ref name="Londre" /> Reviews of the Hartford production and a subsequent production by the [[Steppenwolf Theatre Company|Steppenwolf Theater Company]] praised Wilson's idiomatic dialogue.<ref name="Londre" />

He also became active with the Bay Street Theatre in [[Sag Harbor, New York|Sag Harbor]], where some of his new short plays were produced, including the 1996 world premiere of his comedy ''Virgil Is Still the Frogboy'', commissioned by the Bay Street Theatre and underwritten by ''Vanity Fair'' magazine. The title refers to a famous [[graffiti]] spray-painted on a railroad bridge that had puzzled people in the [[The Hamptons|Hamptons]] for years. Directed by Marshall W. Mason, the production starred [[Arija Bareikis|Arija Bareiikis]], [[Bobby Cannavale]], [[Jennifer Dundas]], Thomas McCarthy, and [[Josh Pais]], running from August&nbsp;14 to September&nbsp;9, 1996.<ref name="weber">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/18/nyregion/residents-gripe-that-their-hideaway-has-become-too-much-like-beverly-hills.html|title=Residents gripe that their hideaway has become too much like Beverly Hills|author=Weber, Bruce|date=August 18, 1986|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWsghsyguxoC&q=originally|title=A Sense of Place; Or, Virgil is Still the Frogboy: A play in two acts|author=Wilson, Lanford|publisher=Dramatist Play Service|year=1999|isbn=9780822215929|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Wilson was openly gay. After moving to New York City in 1962, he settled in an apartment on Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village, where he lived for many years. In the 1970s, he bought a house in [[Sag Harbor]], [[Long Island]].<ref name=BarnettChrono/> He lived in both places, using his Manhattan apartment primarily when he had a play in production there.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/bookcol/wilson/|title=Biographical Note|publisher=University of Missouri Library|access-date=September 3, 2015|department=Lanford Wilson Collection|archive-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906084740/http://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/bookcol/wilson/|url-status=dead}}</ref> When living in Manhattan, he worked with Playwrights Laboratory at the [[Circle Repertory Company]], often attending readings, rehearsals, and productions.

Around 1998, Wilson gave up his apartment in New York to live full-time in Sag Harbor.

Wilson died on March 24, 2011, aged 73, from complications of [[pneumonia]].<ref name=NYTimes1/>

==Awards, recognition, and legacy==
In 1995, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref>

In 2004, Wilson received the [[PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award]] for a Master American Dramatist. Also in 2004, he was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]].

In 2009, he shared insights about his friendship with [[Tennessee Williams]] at a theatre festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts.<ref>Israel, Robert. [http://www.edgeptown.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc3=&id=96286 "Lanford Wilson recalls Tennessee Williams"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510071517/http://www.edgeptown.com/index.php?ch=entertainment |date=2013-05-10 }} ''The Edge'', Provincetown, Massachusetts, September 17, 2009.</ref>

In 2010, [[Debra Monk]] presented Wilson with the Artistic Achievement Award from the [[New York Innovative Theatre Awards]].<ref>Andronico, Michael. [http://www.backstage.com/bso/news-and-features-news/winners-of-2010-it-awards-announced-1004115788.story "Winners of 2010 IT Awards Announced"] ''Back Stage'', September 21, 2010.</ref> This honor was awarded by the off-off-Broadway community "in recognition of his brave and unique works that helped establish the off-off-Broadway community and propel the independent theatre voice as an important contributor to the American stage."<ref>Bacalzo, Dan. [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/news/09-2010/children-of-eden-samuel-and-alasdair-and-more-win_30608.html "''Children of Eden'', ''Samuel and Alasdair'', and More Win 2010 IT Awards"], TheatreMania, September 20, 2010.</ref>

[[Ben Brantley]], theatre critic for ''The New York Times'', has said that Wilson's plays reflect "disenchantment with the state of the nation...A couple plays, at least, featured embittered Vietnam veterans. At the same time, he harked back to the era of more sentimental plays – of portraits of losers on the margins of life."<ref name="Lunden">Lunden, Jeff. [https://www.npr.org/2011/03/25/134855822/for-lanford-wilson-the-plays-were-always-personal "For Lanford Wilson, The Plays Were Always Personal"] [[NPR]], March 25, 2011. Accessed March 13, 2012.</ref> Wilson and Marshall W. Mason encouraged [[method acting]] and often used [[Konstantin Stanislavski|Constantin Stanislavski]]'s technique.{{sfn|Bryer|1994|loc=ch. "&thinsp;'Hell Is Watching Your Script Done Badly': An Interview with Lanford Wilson", pp. 183–203}} In addition to John Malkovich, [[Judd Hirsch]], [[Swoosie Kurtz]], [[William Hurt]], [[Jeff Daniels]], [[David Morse (actor)|David Morse]], and [[Christopher Reeve]] were among the actors who starred in Wilson and Mason's productions.<ref name=Lunden/>

==Selected works==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
*''[[Home Free (play)|Home Free!]]'' (1964)
*''[[The Madness of Lady Bright]]'' (1964)
*''[[Balm in Gilead]]'' (1965)
*''[[Ludlow Fair]]'' (1965)
*''Wandering'' (1966)
*''[[The Rimers of Eldritch]]'' (1967)
*''The Gingham Dog'' (1968) (Wilson's first Broadway production in 1969)
*''[[Lemon Sky]]'' (1968)
*''Sextet (Yes)'' (1969)
*''[[Serenading Louie]]'' (1970)
*''[[The Hot l Baltimore]]'' (1973)
*''The Mound Builders'' (1975)
*''Brontosaurus'' (1977){{col-break}}
*''[[Fifth of July (play)|Fifth of July]]'' (1978; Broadway 1980–82)
*''[[Talley's Folly]]'' (1979; Broadway 1980)
*''A Tale Told'' (1981, later revised and renamed ''[[Talley & Son]]'')
*''[[Angels Fall]]'' (1982; Broadway 1983)
*''[[Burn This]]'' (1986; Broadway 1987–88)
*''A Betrothal'' (1986)
*''A Poster of the Cosmos'' (1988)
*''Abstinence'' (1989)
*''Redwood Curtain'' (1992; Broadway 1993; [[Redwood Curtain|TV 1995]])
*''A Sense of Place'' (1996)
*''Sympathetic Magic'' (1998)
*''Book of Days'' (2000)
*''Rain Dance'' (2002){{col-end}}

Cesear's Forum, Cleveland's [[minimalist]] theatre company, presented ''Lanford Wilson: Take 5'', at Kennedy's Down Under, [[Playhouse Square]] in a September/October 2016 production.  The five plays consisted of: ''Wandering '', ''Sextet (Yes)'', ''A Betrothal'', ''Brontosaurus'', and ''A Poster of the Cosmos''.<ref>{{Cite web | title='Lanford Wilson: Take Five' Is a Jackpot From Cleveland's Most Invisible Theater Company {{!}} Cleveland {{!}} Cleveland Scene | url=https://www.clevescene.com/news/lanford-wilson-take-five-is-a-jackpot-from-clevelands-most-invisible-theater-company-4970102 | access-date=2025-08-17 | website=www.clevescene.com | date=October 13, 2016 }}</ref>  

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
*{{cite book|last=Barnett|first=Gene A.|title=Lanford Wilson|url=https://archive.org/details/lanfordwilson0490barn|url-access=registration|year=1987|publisher=[[Twayne Publishers]]|location=Boston|isbn=0-8057-7498-X}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Bryer|editor-first=Jackson R.|title=Lanford Wilson: A Casebook|year=1994|publisher=Garland Publishers|location=New York|isbn=0-8240-0648-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lanfordwilsoncas0000unse}}
*{{cite book|last=Busby|first=Mark|title=Lanford Wilson|year=1987|publisher=[[Boise State University]]|location=Boise, Idaho|isbn=0-88430-080-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Philip Middleton|title=A Comfortable House: Lanford Wilson, Marshall W. Mason and the Circle Repertory Theatre|year=1993|publisher=[[McFarland & Company, Inc.]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=0-89950-836-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/comfortablehouse0000will}}

==Further reading==
* Radavich, David. "Rabe, Mamet, Shepard, and Wilson: Mid-American Male Dramatists of the 1970s and '80s". ''[[The Midwest Quarterly]]'' XLVIII: 3 (Spring 2007): 342–358.

==External links==
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|933730}}
* {{iobdb name|5031}}
*[https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Entities/2 Wilson's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections]
*{{cite encyclopedia|author=Don S. Lawson|title=Wilson, Lanford (b. 1937)|url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/wilson_l.html|encyclopedia=[[glbtq Encyclopedia Project]]|date=October 17, 2007|access-date=December 21, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814161036/http://www.glbtq.com/literature/wilson_l.html|archive-date=August 14, 2007|ref=none}}
*{{cite web|title=Biography of American dramatist Lanford Wilson|url=http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc65.html|publisher=Moonstruck Drama Bookstore|year=2008|access-date=December 21, 2008}}
* [http://caffecino.wordpress.com/1939/01/01/lanford-wilson/ Robert Patrick's page on Lanford Wilson]
* [http://robertpatrickpersonal.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/videos-of-interviews/ Robert Patrick's page of interviews with/about Wilson and other off-off-Broadway people]
*[http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/wilson.htm Lanford Wilson Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218064906/http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/wilson.htm |date=2013-02-18 }}, Special Collections and Rare Books, [http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/ University of Missouri Libraries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320202152/http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/ |date=2013-03-20 }}
* [https://wikipedy.org/38231/1/lanford-wilson.html Lanford Wilson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622024315/https://wikipedy.org/38231/1/lanford-wilson.html |date=2020-06-22 }}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1976-2000}}
{{Lanford Wilson}}

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