CRITICISM

Barnett, Gene A. “Recreating the Magic: An Interview with Lanford Wilson.” Ball State University Forum 25 (spring 1984): 57-74.

Focuses on Wilson's writing style and creative process.

———. Lanford Wilson. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987, 170 p.

Provides extensive discussion of Wilson's life and works.

Brustein, Robert. “Post-Naturalist Triumph.” New Republic, no. 3642 (5 November 1984): 27-9.

Lauds a revival of Balm in Gilead, directed by John Malkovich, as “a stylistic triumph.”

Cooperman, Robert. “The Talley Plays and the Evolution of the American Family.” In Lanford Wilson: A Casebook, edited by Jackson R. Bryer, pp. 65-84. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994.

Describes Wilson's Talley trilogy as “a history of family life in modern America.”

Gussow, Mel. “Three Lanford Wilson Plays Given Uptown.” New York Times (22 May 1972): 43.

Provides discussion of The Great Nebula in Orion, Ikke, Ikke, Nye, Nye, Nye, and The Family Continues.

Kauffmann, Stanley. “Two American Plays.” New Republic 172, no. 9 (1 March 1975): 22, 33.

Maintains that despite its faults, The Mound Builders is well-grounded in Wilson's Midwestern heritage.

Oliver, Edith. Review of The Rimers of Eldritch, by Lanford Wilson. New Yorker (4 March 1967): 132-33.

Provides a positive assessment of The Rimers of Eldritch.

———. “At the Boathouse.” New Yorker (14 May 1979): 84-5.

Deems Talley's Folly engaging, but lacking in content.

Robertson, C. Warren. “Lanford Wilson (13 April 1937-).” In American Playwrights Since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance, edited by Philip C. Kolin, pp. 528-39. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.

Provides an analysis of Wilson's critical reputation, production history, and literary influences.

Ryzuk, Mary S. The Circle Repertory Company: The First Fifteen Years. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1989, 312 p.

Book-length study on the theater company that Wilson founded.

Weales, Gerald. “American Theater Watch, 1979-1980.” Georgia Review 34, no. 3 (1980): 497-508.

Considers Wilson a conventional dramatist and offers comments on Talley's Folly.

Wilson, Lanford, and Scot Haller. “The Dramatic Rise of Lanford Wilson.” Saturday Review (August 1981): 26-9.

Interview in which Wilson discusses his upbringing and the events leading to the founding of the Circle Repertory Theater.

Additional coverage of Wilson's life and career is contained in the following sources published by Thomson Gale: Contemporary American Dramatists; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 17-20R; Contemporary Authors Bibliographical Series, Vol. 3; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vols. 45, 96; Contemporary Dramatists, Ed. 5; Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vols. 7, 14, 36; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 7; DISCovering Authors Modules: Dramatists; Drama Criticism, Vol. 19; Drama for Students, Vols. 4, 9, 12, 16; Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century, Ed. 3; Literature Resource Center; and Twayne's United States Authors.