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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Broadway To Dim Its Lights Wednesday, March 30 at 8pm In Memory Of Playwright Lanford Wilson
March 29, 2011

The Broadway community mourns the loss of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson who passed away on March 24th at age 73.

The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in his memory on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at exactly 8:00pm for one minute.

Wilson wrote and/or produced over a dozen plays on Broadway spanning four decades. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for Talley's Folly , the central and most famous play in his "Talley Trilogy," and he was nominated for Tony Awards® for Angels Fall, Fifth of July and Talley's Folly.

Paul Libin, Chairman of The Broadway League and Executive Vice President of Jujamcyn Theaters, commented, "Prolific playwright Lanford Wilson's notable contributions to the American theatre will live on through his words, his characters, and his lyrical vision. Whether his productions were first mounted off off Broadway, off Broadway, or on Broadway, his voice resonated with audiences nationwide and laid the foundation for magical and profound theatrical experiences. Our thoughts are with everyone whose lives he touched."

Mr. Lanford's work has long been a staple of regional theaters throughout the United States. In 1969, Mr. Wilson was one of the founding members of the Circle Repertory Company, a highly regarded collective of actors, directors, playwrights and others known for its collaborative approach. He won Drama Desk awards for The Rimers of Eldrich , and was nominated for the award for Fifth of July and Talley's Folly . Wilson's The Hot l Baltimore won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and an Obie Award. In 1975, Hot l Baltimore was turned into a sitcom by Norman Lear, and both Lemon Sky and Redwood Curtain were made into television movies. His other plays included The Rimers of Eldritch, The Gingham Dog, Lemon Sky, Angels Fall, Serenading Louie, The Mound Builders, among others.