Lin, a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, pored over 360 handwritten pages and completed the play Emporium with the blessing of the Wilder estate.
The nine-scene production, which will premiere at Houston's Alley Theater from May 10 to June 2, concludes the literary icon's incredible treasure hunt and rescue mission of forgotten works.
“This is the world premiere of a work by a great American playwright that we didn't know existed,” said Rob Melrose, Alley's artistic director and show director.
Lin spent a year reading everything Wilder left behind when he died in 1975. Wilder's two previous full-length plays, “Our Town” and “The Skin of Our Tee,” each won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His novel “The Bridges of San Luis Rey'' won the Pulitzer Prize.
Wilder's popularity remains strong, with a star-studded revival of “Our Town” scheduled for Broadway this fall, starring Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Richard Thomas and Ephraim Sykes.
Among the late writer's letters, drafts, and notebooks, Lin occasionally found references to an unproduced third play, Emporium, inspired by Franz Kafka's The Castle.
“Kirk said, 'This has to be in there somewhere,'” Melrose said.
When Lynn entered the reference number for an item at Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, she had no idea what was in the bunker box. He said grabbing the nearest scholar by the chest and trying his best not to let out a scream of joy as he lifted the top of the box.
These pages had been extensively added to by the playwright, with sections crossed out and new lines written in the margins. Occasionally, Wilder would get bored and scribble word games such as “plenitude,” “hospice,” and how many other words could be made from “sick.”
It is not entirely correct to say that “The Emporium” is unfinished. Over-finishing might be a good thing — Wilder had multiple versions of each scene, and it was up to Lin to piece together the best versions and add some lines of his own. He likened himself to a carpenter, crackling his seams to make them look smooth.
“I felt like I unlocked a bonus level of not only being able to read his books, but being able to touch the material and feel like I was working with him, which is great. ” he said.
The result is a funny, moving and experimental show with audience participation, jokes about Honey Boo Boo and Jodie Foster, a love story, and surreal touches throughout, like a box of cards on fire. A play starring seven actors has been completed. “He's trying to write as close to the edge as he can,” Lin says.
This play about a mythical department store containing everything one could desire is a metaphor for life in art. We know this because Wilder thought it wise to insert a prologue into the play after the intermission that says just that. Wilder did not write the prologue, so Lynn took his place.
With “Emporium,” Wilder wanted to show how frustrating it can be to be an artist. In a typical corporate job (represented in the film by a rival department store), hiring, promotions, bonuses, and titles are clear. But knowing how to get into the world of art is difficult, and often you have to fake it until you make it.
Lin suspects that heightened expectations played a part in Wilder's failure to complete Emporium. “I think he's pretty scared that he won't meet his standards and his potential,” he said. “He's not sure if it's going to be great again.”
“Emporium” features Wilder's signature touches, such as his farewell speech, and autobiographical details, including references to his own boarding school days, including a nod to the boarding houses and orphanages where he lived. ing.
One challenge Lin faced was how to actually begin the play. Wilder wanted it to be like a complete circle, starting from any scene. In some drafts, the play begins in scene seven. “It was a really fun problem,” Lin said.
Audiences these days are encouraged to watch the show in silence, but that's not the case at “The Emporium.” Wilder asks them to make animal sounds, hiss at characters, and write things on cards. In some cases, you may be asked to take out your cell phone and use a flashlight.
“His idea from the beginning was that the audience would act as a chorus in every scene,” Melrose said. “In the first scene, they're a bunch of customers rioting outside the emporium. In the second scene, they're orphans. In the third scene, they're sheep.”
Lin and Melrose believe that Wilder's legacy, which includes Wilder's nephew Tappan Wilder, inspired Lin to put more of himself and take risks. “I was so happy to be invited,” Lin said.
This is not the first time the Alley Theater has hosted a world premiere of a lost play by a master playwright. In 1998, he produced the American premiere of Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales, which opened on Broadway in 1999.
Melrose, a former artistic director and co-founder of Cutting Ball Theatre, recalled years ago being jealous of Alley and jumping at the chance when Lin started talking about “The Emporium.”
“I thought, 'Oh my God, I can now do things with this that I couldn't do with Williams.'” When I actually got to work with Wilder, I was able to carry that torch that Allie started. I feel like I'm there. ”
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