Balm in Gilead and Other Plays

by Lanford Wilson

Book Overview

"Lanford Wilson is the rare dramatist, witty and humorous, who sees all his characters from the inside...Balm is life itself trapped in a play."-- New York This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374521565
• ISBN13: 9780374521561
• Release Date: January 1965
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

One of times I was truly convinced in the possibility of theatre

That possibility is to deliver dialogue that not only seems realistic, but candid and this is the first play I ever read that felt that way at times. Wilson achieves this with having so many characters just taking the way they do everyday. What's interesting is that each of the characters reads differently even though they all do the same thing, more or less. He achieves in intimacy with these characters and their scene while providing an understanding look into their lives. It's not uplifting, but still a spirtual journey into the lives of people who many think to be spiritually dead, when they're just hurting and hopeless.

Honest

Honest is the only way to describe Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead. The title refering to the biblical verse about a balm to heal the mortal souls of sinners only scratches the surface of the lost individuals one finds in this funny, heart wrenching balad of street life. You will never pass by the homeless, prostitutes, and drug addicts and see them in the same way. You will identify.

It was a great book. Lanford has talent.

Balm in Gilead was confusing at first but then I just couldn't put the book down. Then Ludlow fair this is hilarious and now i'm doing a scene from it in my drama class. And home free was interesting.