Wings (play)
| Wings | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Arthur Kopit |
| Characters |
Emily Stilson Amy Doctors Nurses Billy Mr. Brownstein Mrs. Timmins |
| Date premiered | March 3, 1978 |
| Place premiered |
Yale Repertory Theatre New Haven, CT |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Drama |
Wings is a 1978 play by American playwright Arthur Kopit. Originating as a radio play, it was later adapted for stage and screen.
In 1976, Kopit was commissioned to write an original radio play by the NPR drama project Earplay. Just prior, his father suffered a debilitating stroke, which inspired Kopit to write the play about the language disorder and psychological perspective of a stroke victim. The female character of the play is an amalgam of two women who were both patients at the rehab center that cared for his father.
Production history
The first professional stage performance of Wings took place at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut on March 3, 1978, with Constance Cummings as Emily Stilson, and Marianne Owen as Amy.[1]
The YRT cast and crew was as follows:
- Emily Stilson - Constance Cummings
- Amy - Marianne Owen
- Doctors - Geoffrey Pierson, Roy Steinberg
- Nurses - Caris Corfman, Carol Ostrow
- Billy - Richard Grusin
- Mr. Brownstein - Ira Bernstein
- Mrs. Timmins - Betty Pelzer
- Directed by John Madden
- Designed by Andrew Jackness
- Costumes by Jeanne Button
- Lighting by Tom Schraeder
- Sound by Tom Voegeli
- Music by Herb Pilhofer
On January 28, 1979, the show opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City.
The cast and crew was as follows:
- Emily Stilson - Constance Cummings
- Amy - Mary-Joan Negro
- Doctors - Roy Steinberg, Ross Petty
- Nurses - Gina Franz, Mary Michele Rutherfurd
- Billy - James Tolkan
- Mr. Brownstein - Carl Don
- Mrs. Timmins - Betty Pelzer
- Directed by John Madden
- Designed by Andrew Jackness
- Costumes by Jeanne Button
- Lighting by Tom Schraeder
- Sound by Tom Voegeli
- Music by Herb Pilhofer
It was filmed for U.S. television in 1983, starring Constance Cummings and Mary-Joan Negro.
Awards and recognition
- 1979 Selection, The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook, The Best Plays of 1978-1979[2]
References
- ↑ Kopit, Arthur (1978). Wings: a play. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 0-8090-1239-1
- ↑ Guernsey Jr. (Ed.), Otis L. (1979). The Best Plays of 1978-1979. New York & Toronto: Dodd, Mead & Company. pp. 168–179. ISBN 0-396-07723-4.