Balm in Gilead

by Lanford Wilson

Book by Lanford Wilson

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, LGBT

72 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Lanford Wilson was an American playwright, considered one of the founders of the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Reviews

[Soo-jin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really need to see this play on its feet. It's usually the case with plays that have simultaneous/overlapping scenes and many characters. This one has around 40. I can see this was an ambitious first play that got a production. I am proud of Lanford. I am proud of his messy attempt.

I can seriously see that he loves this dark and bleak endings. It is classically Lanford. Knowing him, it makes total sense. But at the same time it is fascinating because this man has so much love for humanity in him so the tragic endings become so much more so.

I related to Darlene's story about Chicago. The names of the streets brought me back to the extremely lonely year and half of my marriage there. That was bleak, too.

How matchy matchy we are then. Lanford's endings and my short Chicago life.

This is not my favorite of his plays, but it makes me want to read more!

[Brian McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very 1960s off-Broadway. Very Lanford Wilson and his many rambling characters. Not much plot. Lots of natural, overlapping dialogue.

I think to see this play has the potential to be an event. Just reading it doesn’t work nearly as well.

[Risa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy.