Wonder of the World (play)
Encyclopedia
Wonder of the World is a play by American
playwright
David Lindsay-Abaire
. This play was his second success as a playwright, the first play being Fuddy Meers
which also premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club
. It opened there in the club in 2000 starring Sarah Jessica Parker
as a wife named Cass who suddenly leaves her husband (after discovering his sexual fetish involving Barbie
heads), and hops a bus to Niagara Falls in search of freedom, enlightenment and the meaning of life. This characters and tone of this play follows the pattern of Abaire's earlier writing, as he himself once said: "My plays tend to be peopled with outsiders in search of clarity."
Here is a synopsis of the story, from the play's own program: "Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband's sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. It's a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water's edge."
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...
David Lindsay-Abaire
David Lindsay-Abaire
David Lindsay-Abaire is an American playwright and lyricist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations.-Early life and education:...
. This play was his second success as a playwright, the first play being Fuddy Meers
Fuddy Meers
Fuddy Meers is an American play by David Lindsay-Abaire. It tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who awakens each morning as a blank slate on which her husband and teenage son must imprint the facts of her life. One morning Claire is abducted by a limping, lisping man who claims her husband...
which also premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
. It opened there in the club in 2000 starring Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
as a wife named Cass who suddenly leaves her husband (after discovering his sexual fetish involving Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
heads), and hops a bus to Niagara Falls in search of freedom, enlightenment and the meaning of life. This characters and tone of this play follows the pattern of Abaire's earlier writing, as he himself once said: "My plays tend to be peopled with outsiders in search of clarity."
Here is a synopsis of the story, from the play's own program: "Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband's sweater drawer. It is so shocking that our heroine has no choice but to flee to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. It's a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water's edge."