Burn This

by Lanford Wilson

Commissioned by the Circle Repertory Company, Burn This first appeared at the Mark Taper Forum in Los angeles in 1987 to near-universal praise. Set in the bohemian art world of downtown New York, this vivid and challenging drama explores the spiritual and emotional isolation of Anna and Pale, two outcasts who meet in the wake of the accidental death by drowning of a mutual friend. Their determined struggle toward emotional honesty and liberation--by no means guaranteed at the play's ambiguous end--exemplifies the strength, humor, and complexity of all of Lanford Wilson's work and confirms his standing as one of America's greatest living playwrights.

Lanford Wilson was born in Lebanon, Missouri, in 1938 and attended the University of Chicago. A founding member of the Circle Repertory Company in New York, he has seen many of his plays produced in theaters all over the United States and abroad. He is the recipient of many awards, including a Drama Desk Vernon Rice Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and two Obies.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Fiction, Romance, LGBT, American

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1987

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

[Jennifer Blankfein · Rating 5 out of 5]

In anticipation of the Broadway production of Burn This starring Adam Driver and Kerri Russel, I chose to familiarize myself with this emotional story of loss and love, and I am so glad I did! Late 1980s, NYC, female dancer with gay roommates and rich writer boy friend loses friend in an accident. The deceased’s brother looks to her to learn more about his younger sibling and a physical relationship develops. Their emotional connection stemming from mourning grows but timing is not right and she sends him on his way. Painful to shut him out, she devotes herself to her work as a choreographer.

Thank you to Langford Wilson, the playwright, for giving the roommate the insight and understanding of the depth of the dancer’s feelings...he sets the dancer and the brother up to be alone in the room together without either of them knowing... and it was just what they both needed. I expect this play to be emotional and steamy. Cannot wait to see it on stage in May!

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn this is a play by Lanford Wilson.
I have never read any play by this writer before, but I fell in love with this one.
I loved the characters of Anna and Pale, they are flawed people but find a connection in each other.
Anna is a dancer and Pale manages a restaurant. He is the brother of her friend Robby who does along with his partner Dom.
Anna and Pale meet because of these
deaths.
The writing in this play is magic. I love how each character has their own distinct voice.
It is a two-act play that has a bit of an ambiguous ending, but also I think a clear ending.
Great story that I loved from start to finish.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be the type of play you need to re-read or watch performed to see its poignancy. Neither Anna nor Pale felt developed, and I didn't understand where this electric chemistry was supposed to be coming from. I ultimately just ended up feeling bad for Anna; her frustration and exhaustion felt palpable and heavy, like the reader was meant to shoulder part of the burden she was carrying.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Junior year at UMD - I played Anna, my dear friend Peter Ooley played Pale and one of my favorite professors, Ann, directed this amazing play by Lanford Wilson. We had a Romanian guy here that designed the set. I had no idea he was paying attention at our rehearsals until he walked me to class one day and lectured me on how I was portraying Anna as a diva. He was right; from that moment on, I viewed her differently which influenced the way I moved and delivered lines. I loved reading, memorizing, and working on this play. It was such an emotional experience for me. Just thinking about it tugs at my heart strings.

A must read for anyone who is passionate, has experienced loss, and has ever fallen in love with the wrong guy at the right time.

[Tim Pinckney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this play. Smart, funny, heartbreaking.
I remember the play vividly with Malkovich, Joan Allen, Lou Libertore and Jonathan Hogan - A perfect cast.

[Ilze Folkmane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I apparently have a thing for plays that I don't fully understand. It's just this feeling of depth here that I can't quite access, but can definitely sense.

[trestitia ⵊⵊⵊ deamorski]

Hakan Kurtaş'tan ❤ geldim.
(ya bu herif ne güzel, ağlıyor arkadaşlar oh boy)

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could get to NYC to see this with Adam Driver, I really would.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very fine play - just the kind of thing that I like to see - a realistic, taut, contemporary drama with comic elements and interesting characters. This begins shortly after the funeral of a character who does not appear on stage, but whose presence is felt throughout the play. The main characters are the deceased's roommate and best friend (a woman), lover, brother, and a screenwriter who is seeing the woman. Everybody is in a blue state at the beginning, and the dead dancer's brother, named Pale, shows up drunk at their apartment. Despite his horrible behavior (or maybe because of it) he ends up sleeping with Anna, who is distraught over her friend's death and allows herself to feel some passion for his brother. Larry, a witty gay man who lives in the apartment seems less upset even tho he has lost his lover. Burton also makes an appearance - an imaginative, trust-funded screenwriter, he goes off on brief picturesque rants about his writing ideas that I found quite entertaining.

Pale shows up again on New Year's Eve, drunk as can be. There is a showdown between him and Burton, and Anna, interestingly enough, throws out her well-off boyfriend and spends the night with the drunken, passionate Pale. A spark has clearly been struck between the two, but Anna is unable to deal with it and shows him the door the next morning. There follows a surprise ending engineered by Larry, who seems to understand Anna's heart a little better than she does.

There are some wonderful moments and lines. Wilson never overdoes it; the humor and passion are usually restrained enough to be both believable and interesting. The title comes from a speech of Burton's: "Make it as personal as you can. Believe me, you can't imagine a feeling everyone hasn't had. Make it personal, tell the truth, and then write 'Burn this" on it."

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never thought much about this playwright but I can easily envision paying money to see this (especially for its 1987 debut with John Malkovich as the somewhat emotionally complex but also thuggish Pale - plainly an opportunity unlikely to recur).

The opening stage directions say "the time is the present" but there's a lot that is quite period-specific (cocaine, Tribeca as wasteland for only brave artists and so on).

Not really central to the play, but I enjoyed a speech he puts in the mouth of a cynical character who is a film screen writer "There are no good movies. It can't happen. When a good movie happens, on a roll of the dice, once in five years, it's like this total aberration, a freak of nature like the Grand Canyon, they're ashamed of it. They can't wait to remake it another ten years and fuck it up the way it's supposed to be."

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this.

I’m still learning *how* to read plays because it’s so foreign to me (despite being a theater kid, I pretty much exclusively was in musical theater, so this whole genre is new to me). But, I loved this. I think partially because Anna feels so relevant to me at a basic level (early 30s, dancer/choreographer). And the plot is simple, yet intriguing, and Larry, Burton and Pale are all interesting characters and they each have a clear sense of purpose in the development of the play.

I will definitely need to re-read this to fully “get” it, but I enjoyed it (so much that I’ve been YouTube-searching for versions of it). If I was compiling a wishlist of characters to play (despite not at all being a serious actor), Anna might top that list. Maybe I can convince a local theater class to use this play for a semester :)

[Patrick Grizzard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expect this was amazing when it debuted on Broadway with John Malkovich and I’m eager to see the forthcoming revival. But on the page, it felt a little flat. I didn’t really understand Anna’s attraction to Pale and both characters felt underdeveloped.

Overall, though, this play has aged well. It feels relevant to the lives of artists living and working in New York anytime in the last 30 years (hence the revival). But there are also moments, lines of dialogue, vernacular styles - that evoke the downtown art scene in a way that was surely the epitome of cool in 1987, but now feels a bit self-consciously try-hard. Flaunting a scene’s artistic signifiers decades later no doubt resonates differently than it did at the peak of its cultural moment.

[Agatha Donkar Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

My senior thesis show -- uneven and heavily dependent on having an actor who can carry Pale (who reads terribly on the page; his long speeches, which are completely spell-binding with a good actor, are awkward and hard to read), but with moments of utter transcendence. Probably doesn't deserve four stars, but holds a soft spot in my heart.

"Make it personal, tell the truth, and then write 'Burn This' on it."

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went in fully expecting to hate this because of Landford Wilson (the man did write Fifth of July after all) and shame on me for judging a play by its... playwright. The man can write a second act!

I was interested in Burn This due to Adam Driver's recent involvement and I would like to reread it so I can fully digest it.

[Brian McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a character driven play than one based in a plot trajectory. Dead roommate brings unlikely people together. The play seems very 80s with its labels and drug use.

[Lorri Steinbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read after I saw the play performed on Broadway this year. I love to see how actors interpret the material. On the page, you sometimes miss the chemistry between Anna and Pale, but it comes to life on the stage.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't get it. People got together for random reasons. Made no sense. An obscure broadway play. Definitely didn't love it.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the dynamics of the four individual personalities, it was difficult to relate to most of them. Pale's dialogue need not be so colorful

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unconventional love story-maybe. A very unconventional story of loss and grieving-maybe. An unconventional family story-maybe. Maybe its all three-whatever it is it hits the reader hard and doesn't let go. Kind of stunning in it's simplicity and it's rawness.

[Jon Hewelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked it?

I know I learned about Lanford Wilson in college, though I can't remember if we read anything of his. I own a copy of Burn This, but that could be due to my habit of buying scripts of all kinds, whether or not I was in the proper class.

In any case, I thought I'd like Lanford Wilson's work, from what I've learned about him and from what little snippets I (think) I've read. And in finishing Burn This, I know I enjoyed it, but there's something about Burn This that leaves me feeling unfulfilled. Maybe it's one of those plays that really has to be seen performed in order to appreciate?

Burn This concerns four characters: Anna and Larry, former roommates of Robby, who has died in a boating accident; Burton, Anna's boyfriend; and Palek Robby's brother. Anna and Larry have just returned from Robby's funeral (wake? It's been a while.) and Burton has just returned from a Canadian retreat to help with his writing. Some time later (a week? a month? I don't remember), Pale unexpectedly shows up to collect his brother's things, and Anna and Larry's world is thrown into a whirlwind. Their universe of art and dance and culture totally clashes with Pale's coarser worldview, and yet . . . there's something that compels Anna and Pale towards one another.

That is largely why I think this play needs to be seen to be fully appreciated: I understood the attraction, but had a tough time believing it just from what I was reading. I hate to cop to that as a critique: in college writing classes, we were taught that disbelief was highly subjective and therefore not a valid critique. I just remember reading Burn This and thinking, "Wait, when did this develop? How did this happen", and not finding satisfaction with any one answer.

Which is not to suggest I didn't enjoy Burn This. Like I said at the top, I think I liked it! I enjoy the characters, and the small world of their apartment. The dialogue is strong: character voices unique, distinct from one another, and there's a danger lurking in the subtext. Perhaps that's where my confusion came in. Dialogue often seemed indirect, characters talking around each other, but to see these conversations carried out onstage, it might be easier to glean the message underneath the message.

The ending left me wanting more, and I haven't made up my mind whether, in this case, that's a good thing or a bad thing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey, and think Burn This is worth checking out. Plus, the original cast note at the beginning indicates that John Malkovich originated the role of Pale and, if nothing else, it was fun imagining his delivery for this paricularly strange character.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not going to lie - I am only reading this because Adam Driver is now starting as Pale on Broadway. I’m glad my obsession with him has led to discovering some great films and now great plays too!
I really enjoyed the dialogue in this play and the intensity of the characters. It seemed quite short but I haven’t read a huge amount of plays and this is a play where the drama is understated and not like a huge overblown rollercoaster. I could imagine some finding it boring but I actually really loved it.

[Ethan Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sharp and natural writing, and every character seems distinct enough in dialogue alone. Excellent dialogue and pacing.

Play focuses on an exploration of grief and the love that arises from it. I felt the conversations and explorations of the themes seemed rather aimless, and it just wanted to cover these various feelings that come with loss, but it felt rather underdeveloped. There’s little relationship established between the departed and Anna (which forms the backbone behind Anna and Pale’s grief), and the chemistry between the Anna and Pale that apparently rises out of grief just seemed to stagger and falter that it failed to circle back to the themes.

Given that the play and it’s associated critical reception seems to prominently feature homosexual relationships and identity, it seemed like the focus really lacked exploring them as strong themes or motifs, neither to compare nor contrast to the heterosexual leads’ relationship. The gay relationships are just “there” and a topic of discussion that seems minimally explored. The extent to which the gay identity is explored seems more along the lines of introducing it as a passing point of conversation. It explores how the gay identity is noticed but not seen, but without having a gay relationship as a lead, or as a means of comparison/contrast to the lead. It takes a more moderate stance, which I’m sure was more impactful in the 80s than it is to me, a 22-year-old in 2019 who grew up in California.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic that lives up to its reputation, BURN THIS is Wilson at his best: funny, acerbic, unexpectedly poignant, and deeply entrenched in the demimonde of New York City, where the rich, the working class, the artists, queers, straights and the questioning mix. Poetic and witty, the dialogue is fast and furious and nails each of the four characters exsquisitely- from the first line you know who these people are, where they are, and why they are there. No sequence feels wasted, no moment extraneous. It's a lean text but a rich one, with much to mine for each actor in the piece, and an unsettling but satisfying ending that sells you on a relationship which, just as it is for heroine Anna, seems like it should be wrong, but feels utterly inevitable and deeply, satisfyingly right.

[Sara Elice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this play. I was introduced to it in a class by Adrian Pasdar and it was hard to get a real sense of who the characters were from the snippits we read, so I wanted to read the whole thing to understand why he loves this play so much. And it's pretty good.

The way Pale speaks is really awkward. I get that it's stylized, but I can't actualy imagine an actor reciting it as written...although I'm sure Malkovich pulled it off spectacularly. It's just hard to picture.

[Nick K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I understood this play. The internal struggle of wanting to feel alive and free yet wanting safety and companionship. Moving into comfort and routine vs passion and uncertainty. The pros and cons of both lifestyles kind of bleed together depending on the day or hour (hell, even the moment). We are constantly evolving. And unless a person is evolving with us, they fall away.

[Ed Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great play. At first I thought, yes this is pretty good, but is it great? But the final two scenes, when Pale shows up and Burton is like oh no this guy, and then you come to understand what's going on...I don't know, I had a lot of eloquent thoughts about this but I've forgotten them all. But the fucked up relationship felt so real to me! Is that bad?!

[Eve Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still think this is one of the best plays ever written, and that the production of it I directed in 1991, when I was a senior in high school, remains the best production of it I've ever seen? Is that hubris?

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't actually read this, I saw it performed at Shakespeare Santa Cruz. I thought it was very good in places (had some lovely lines), but I never really bought the attraction between some of the characters. I'm not sure if that has to do with the play or the performance.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this play was probably really relevant 20 years ago. But to my modern San Francisco sensibilities, it just seemed dated. I know Lanford Wilson is a big name in the canon so I will try other plays, but hopefully they will be less topical.

[Reesa Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite ever play from my favorite ever playwright. The relationship are complex and real and heartbreaking and exhilarating. Wilson's talent as a character creator comes through loud and clear in these very real characters.