Atw - Downstage Center

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson discusses the creation of his famed "Talley trilogy," including "Fifth of July", which stemmed in part from his equating an Eskimo folk tale with the war in Vietnam, and "Talley's Folly", now in revival at the McCarter Theatre, and how it grew out of an acting suggestion made to one of the original cast members of "Fifth of July". He also talks about his original aspirations of being an artist, with writing being simply something to fall back on; his move from Chicago to New York and his introduction to Off-Broadway's famed Cafe Cino in the mid-60s; the genesis of his landmark plays "Balm in Gilead" and "The Hot l Baltimore"; how he came to write "Burn This" to break away from his growing reputation as a "suburban" playwright and as the antithesis of "Talley's Folly"; and whether we'll be seeing new plays from him any time soon. Original air date - October 17, 2008.