Honest is the only way to describe Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead. The title refering to the biblical verse about a balm to heal the mortal souls of sinners only scratches the surface of the lost individuals one finds in this funny, heart wrenching balad of street life. You will never pass by the homeless, prostitutes, and drug addicts and see them in the same way. You will identify.

Balm in Gilead was confusing at first but then I just couldn't put the book down. Then Ludlow fair this is hilarious and now i'm doing a scene from it in my drama class. And home free was interesting.

Landford Wilson's Book of Days is a real play. Nothing fake about it. First off, his characters are so in deep and contrast with eachother that it makes it a great read. Most of the first act is basically a charming exposition until it nose-dives into a dark and twisted conflict (sorry, read the play). There is a lot of language, however, but it makes a profound impact in what is being told in the story. The way Wilson has each character being a member of the chorus pulls you into the play. The ending is the best: it has you thinking that this could be happening in your own back yard. It can also be debated that this is in fact a tragedy instead of drama. Read this play!
This was a very hard play to put down. In matter of fact, I didn't.

I saw this play in St. Louis and was astounded by it. After the first act, you realize you're watching a well-wrought play, populated by strong, quirky characters, interesting situations, and fascinating, complex relationships, all the things you expect from Wilson. But it doesn't seem like the best play he's ever written, as quite a few people have claimed. With works like Fifth of July, Burn This, and Redwood Curtain in his canon, Best Ever is quite a claim. Then you see Act II. And you realize they might just be right. All the groundwork laid in Act I pays off in such abundantly satisfying ways. And there's so much more to this play than you thought. There is the temptation to fault Book of Days for its loose construction and seemingly scattershot laying out of scenes, but that's where its real beauty lies, in the poetry of the ordinary, in the unexpected turns life takes, in the randomness of living. The organization of the play is in its characters and in its themes of ambition, the need to know, and the fear of change. With plainly theatrical devices sprinkled throughout the show - characters narrating the show, watching from the sides, stepping out of scenes to directly address the audience - this is not trying to be kitchen sink drama. It is a play uniquely American and just as uniquely Lanford Wilson. It is what it says it is, a book of days, a diary, a story to be told, with characters at once good and bad, admirable and not. It's a snapshot of small town American life at the end of the millennium, in some ways not so different from big city life, in some ways light years away.

Every play Lanford Wilson writes is intelligent as well as passionate and dramatic. It is almost beyond belief how hard it is to combine all of these qualities in the same play. In "Burn This", Wilson is in top form. Pale (the male lead) is such a clearly written and deeply felt part that an actor does not have to fill in any gaps; if an actor can read well, he is assured of at least an above average performance. The dialogue is spicy, funny, sad, bitter and more. In movie terms, it is a Nicholas Cage part (although Malkovich originated it).

Pale's love interest and foil (the Joan Allen part) is not secondary to Pale because she has the power to heal him. A magnificent love story.

This play is a meaningful, and yet almost simple, masterpiece. The story unfolds with the death of a gay man, which ultimately brings an unlikely match closer together. Wilson's use of homosexual issues is the perfect sprinkling: it is not the main focus of the play, but gives it just the extra touch. This is how homosexuality should be written about in the theatre (or any form of entertainment). It isn't over-played or under-played, but just right.

This play beautifuly written about a sinister and "un-happening" town called Elderitch illuminates and shows how differen't it is from our society. This town is stuck in an atmosphere that is creepy and insincere. I am currently in the play and being two of the caracters, Lena and Mary. Acting out these two parts really shows the two differen't sides of one town. I love this play and would recomend it to anyone. This play is not for children, it is unforgiving and unseteling, and has some highly rated content and scenes.

The Rimers of Eldritch is an innotive piece of American theatre focused upon the Bible belt culture of the 1960's. Wilson writes about community life with such an edge an audience or reader will never forget the dark atmosphere of life the characters are condemned to.

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.

This is the most amazing play I have ever had the opportunity to read and work with. It follows the character of Alan over about a 6 month period in his life where more happens to him than happens to most people in a lifetime. He learns that his relationship with his father will never be what he wants and these experiences help to shape his future, which is where he is telling the story from. This is basically an autobiography and has some of the most amazing visual images. It is comedy and tragedy all rolled into an amazing piece.

A group of archaeologists, racing against time to unearth an Indian burial mound before it is immersed in a man-made lake, discover instead the secrets they've buried in their own hearts. As enamored as I am of Wilson's entire oeuvre, this is the piece I consider to be his masterwork. I've worked on his plays as both an actor and a director, and the more you dig, the more they open up -- bottomless wells of depth and perception. THE MOUND BUILDERS is possibly the most exquisite play to be written in the last quarter of the twentieth century. It's thrilling, complex and deeply human, utterly mysterious and achingly sad.

I know David Kahn and when he gave me this book to read for my script analysis class, it opened my eyes one how a play writen and why the writer made the choices he made. This book helps you take new scripts and break them down so they can be produced for stage or film. This book is great for actors when they first pick up a script to their rehearsals. It helps for directors when they discover the event chain of the play and character chain of the play. For set desginers when they discover the world of the play of the character. Also it helps for writing because you can see examples of these things in the workings of a completed play. This great book because it's easy reading. Another great tool for those in theatre.

An interesting play. Three acts, one by each author. All take place in one day, on the same beach. Same three actors in each scene, but different characters. The first scene is dramatic, but slightly confusing. The second is light and humorous. The third, by Terrence McNally, is quite good - very poigniant. In all, a good play - I'd be interested to see it performed.

Checkov was a master of composing life's largest problems into beautiful language and ordinary situations which the entire world could understand. Granted he wrote them a long time ago but the underlying situation exists everywhere today. Here are three sisters completely unable to move on with their lives. They are unhappy, they are desperate for a change of scene, they are forced to give up anyone they love to someone else but yet they remain glued to the exact place where all of this occurs. Olga has passed her prime, Masha loves someone other than her husband, and Irina has no idea what could possibly make her happy and all they do is talk about change, but never do anything active. And in the end it all comes full circle and we as an audience, a reader, need to decide how to not fall into such a life rut, to learn by their actions as we do from Aesop's fables. This play is just written a great deal better, with a little more comedy and tugging at the heartstrings.