Thornton Niven Wilder
American novelist and playwright. (1897 - 1975)
Born 17 April, 1897 - Madison, Wisconsin.
Stage Works
Unless otherwise indicated the plays were first performed in New York.
- The Trumpet Shall Sound. Play. Published 1920. Produced American Laboratory Theatre, Dec. 10, 1927.
- Nascuntur Poetae. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Proserpina and the Devil. Playlet for marionettes, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Fanny Otcott. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Brother Fire. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Penny that Beauty Spent. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Angel on the Ship. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Message and 'Marine. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Centaurs. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Leviathan. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- And the Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Now the Servant's Name Was Malchus. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Mozart and the Gray Steward. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- Hast Thou Considered My Servant Job? Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Flight into Egypt. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Angel that Troubled the Waters. Play, 1 act. Published 1928.
- The Long Christmas Dinner. Play, 1 act. Published 1931. Produced New Haven, Conn., 1931; Mannheim, Germany, Dec. 20, 1961, as opera for which Wilder wrote the libretto. Music: Paul Hindemith.
- Queens of France. Satiric comedy, I act. Published 1931.
- Pullman Car Hiawatha. Play, 1 act. Published 1931.
- Love and How to Cure It. Play, 1 act. Published 1931. Produced New Haven, Conn., 1931.
- Such Things Only Happen in Books. Play, 1 act. Published 1931. Produced New Haven, Conn., 1931.
- The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. Play, 1 act. Published 1931. Produced New Haven, Conn., 1931.
- Lucrece. Play, 4 acts. Published 1933. Produced Be-lasco Theatre, Dec. 20, 1932. (Translation). From André Obey's Le viol de Lucrèce (1931).
- The Bride of Torozko. Comedy, 3 acts. Published 1933. (Translation). From Ottó Indig's play of the same name.
- A Doll's House. Drama, 3 acts. Produced Central City, Colo., Opera House, July 17, 1937; Toronto, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Oct. 11, 1937. (Adaptation). Based on Henrik Ibsen 's Et dukkehjem.
- Our Town. Drama, 3 acts. Published 1938. Produced Henry Miller Theatre, Feb. 4, 1938.
- The Merchant of Yonkers. Farce, 4 acts. Published 1939. Produced Guild Theatre, Dec. 28, 1938. Based on Nestroy's comedy Einen Jux will er sich machen (1842).
- The Skin of Our Teeth. Play, 3 acts. Published 1942. Produced Plymouth Theatre, Nov. 18, 1942.
- Our Century. Play, 3 scenes. Published 1947. Produced Apr. 26, 1947.
- The Victors. Play. Published 1948. Based on Jean-Paul Sartre's play Morts sans sépulture.
- The Matchmaker. Farce, 4 acts. Published 1956. Produced Edinburgh, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Aug. 23, 1954; New York, Royale Theatre, Dec. 5, 1955. Revised version of The Merchant of Yonkers.
- Alcestiad. Play. Produced Edinburgh, Assembly Hall, Aug. 22, 1955, as Life in the Sun. Based on Euripides's Alcestis.
- Bernice. Play, 1 act. Produced Berlin, Congresshalle Theater, Sept. 20, 1957.
- The Wreck on the 5:25. Play, 1 act. Produced Berlin, Congresshalle Theater, Sept. 20, 1957. The following three plays (Nos. 36, 37, and 38) are known under the collective title
Plays for Bleecker Street.
- Infancy. Play. Produced Circle in the Square, Jan. 11, 1962.
- Childhood. Play. Produced Circle in the Square, Jan. 11, 1962.
- Someone from Assisi. Play. Produced Circle in the Square, Jan. 11, 1962.
Criticism
- R. Burbank, Thornton Wilder, New York, 1961;
- B. Grebanier, Thornton Wilder, Minneapolis, 1964;
- M. Goldstein, The Art of Thornton Wilder, Lincoln, Nebr., 1965;
- D. Haberman, The Plays of Thornton Wilder, Middle-town, Conn., 1967;
- H. Stresau, Thornton Wilder, New York, 1971;
- A. N. Wilder, Thornton Wilder and His Public, Philadelphia, 1980;
- R. H. Gold-stone and G. Anderson, Thornton Wilder:
- A Biographical Checklist of Work by and about Thornton Wilder, New York, 1981.