Wings (play)
Encyclopedia
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.
in New Haven, Connecticut
on March 3, 1978, with Constance Cummings
as Emily Stilson, and Marianne Owen as Amy.
The YRT cast and crew was as follows:
On January 28, 1979, the show opened at the Kennedy Center.
The cast and crew was as follows:
It was filmed for U.S. television in 1983, starring Constance Cummings
and Mary-Joan Negro.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
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
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
drama project Earplay
Earplay
Earplay was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama anthologies on National Public Radio, heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written by such leading playwrights as Edward Albee, Arthur Kopit, Archibald MacLeish and David...
. 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 TheatreYale Repertory Theatre
The Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
in New Haven, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
on March 3, 1978, with Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
as Emily Stilson, and Marianne Owen as Amy.
The YRT cast and crew was as follows:
- Emily Stilson - Constance CummingsConstance CummingsConstance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
- Amy - Marianne Owen
- Doctors - Geoffrey Pierson, Roy Steinberg
- Nurses - Caris Corfman, Carol Ostrow
- Billy - Richard GrusinRichard GrusinRichard Grusin is an American new media scholar and author who currently serves as both Professor of English and Director of the Center for 21st Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.-Education:...
- Mr. Brownstein - Ira Bernstein
- Mrs. Timmins - Betty Pelzer
- Directed by John MaddenJohn Madden (director)John Philip Madden is an English director of theatre, film, television, and radio.- Biography :Madden was educated at Clifton College. He was in the same house as friend and fellow director Roger Michell. He began his career in British independent films, and graduated from the University of...
- 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 Kennedy Center.
The cast and crew was as follows:
- Emily Stilson - Constance CummingsConstance CummingsConstance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
- Amy - Mary-Joan Negro
- Doctors - Roy Steinberg, Ross PettyRoss PettyRoss Petty is a Canadian actor and theatre producer. He is best known for his eponymous production company, which stages family theatre productions in Toronto every holiday season.- Early career :...
- Nurses - Gina Franz, Mary Michelle Rutherford
- Billy - James TolkanJames TolkanJames S. Tolkan is an American actor, often cast as a strict, overbearing, bald-headed authority figure.-Personal life:He was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer, and attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College...
- Mr. Brownstein - Carl Don
- Mrs. Timmins - Betty Pelzer
- Directed by John MaddenJohn Madden (director)John Philip Madden is an English director of theatre, film, television, and radio.- Biography :Madden was educated at Clifton College. He was in the same house as friend and fellow director Roger Michell. He began his career in British independent films, and graduated from the University of...
- 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
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
and Mary-Joan Negro.
Awards and recognition
- 1979 Selection, The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook, The Best Plays of 1978-1979