Watch the Premiere of THORNTON WILDER: IT'S TIME | 5/18 @ 7:30pm ET
NEW THORNTON WILDER DOCUMENTARY
“THORNTON WILDER: IT’S TIME”
TO DEBUT LIVE AND FREE BY
SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY IN DC
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time,” a new documentary about the life and works of the influential playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder – who is the subject of numerous posthumous tributes this year on the 125th anniversary of his birth – will be given its world-premiere Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. (eastern) during a free livestream of SHAKESPEARE HOUR LIVE! from the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.
Shakespeare Theatre Company is producing one of several high-profile revivals of OUR TOWN this year, with performances set for May 12-June 11 at Sidney Harman Hall (610 F St. NW).
“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time” will be streamed live; advance registration for the hour-long event at https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/shakespeare-hour-live-21-22/#
Featured in the May 18 screening will be an open Q&A with Tappan Wilder, Thornton Wilder’s nephew and literary executor, Wilder Director of Programs Rosey Strub, along with Jim Knable, who conceived and scripted the documentary. The discussion will be led by STC Resident Dramaturg Dr. Drew Lichtenberg and Artistic Director Simon Godwin.
Watch the documentary trailer:
“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time” is a documentary short that includes interviews with contemporary theater artists whose own work has been profoundly influenced by Thornton Wilder, such as Paula Vogel, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Henry Wishcamper, and Tatiana Pandiani, as well as never-before-seen interviews with A.R. Gurney and Mia Farrow.
Thornton Wilder is the 3-time Pulitzer Prize winning author of such renowned works as OUR TOWN, THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER and THE MATCHMAKER, along with the novels THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY and THE IDES OF MARCH. He was born April 17, 1897 and died in 1975.
Along with Shakespeare Theatre’s OUR TOWN, Wilder’s most widely-produced play is currently running at South Coast Rep in La Jolla, California. His ambitious, unfinished play THE EMPORIUM will receive its first-ever staging at the Alley Theatre in Houston in a workshop production adapted by Kirk Lynn and directed by Rob Melrose June 15-26.
American Academy of Arts and Letters will present the 2022 THORNTON WILDER PRIZE FOR TRANSLATION to Edith Grossman on May 18. Widely-considered one of the leading Spanish-to-English translators in the world, she is renowned for her translations of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel de Cervantes and Mario Vargas Llosa.
In January 2023, Wilder 125 – in conjunction with the Stage Managers Association and in honor of the iconic role of Stage Manager in OUR TOWN – will recognize the inimitable work of stage managers, with an emphasis on those who have staged managed a production of OUR TOWN, or even played the role on stage.
For more info about Wilder 125 visit www.wilder125.com