A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Wings

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  4w, 3m

Music by Jeffrey Lunden
Book and Lyrics by Arthur Perlman
From the play Wings by Arthur Kopit

In her youth, Emily fearlessly walked the wings of a biplane. Now, years later, as she recovers from a stroke, she must regain the vocabulary to accompany her reawakened emotions.

Wings

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Stage & Screen)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior, Pre-Teen (Age 11-13), Teen (Age 14-18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1994 Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical
    Winner! Three 1993 Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago), including Best New Work
    Winner! Two 1993 Obie Awards
Also Available
Wings (Kopit)

Details

Summary
In her adventurous youth, Emily was an aviatrix who fearlessly walked on the wings of the family biplane. Just as she once plummeted dizzyingly through space, she is now falling through inner space as the result of a stroke. This extraordinary musical takes us inside Emily's mind as this gallant woman gropes her way toward the cave of memory, away from the scrambled words and short-circuited thoughts that hold her captive. With breathtaking simplicity, Wings charts Emily's hesitant recovery as she begins regaining the vocabulary to accompany her reawakened emotions. But a relapse hurls her back into the void, this time to face death. In this musical's exultant view, however, Emily has merely taken flight once again, the curiosity and bravery that prompted her girlish exploits having seized her anew.
History
Wings made its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in October 1992. The musical premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theater on 23 February 1993. Directed by Michael Maggio, the production starred Linda Stephens, alternating with Rita Gardner in the lead role, and featured William Brown, Ora Jones, Ross Lehman and Hollis Resnik.
Keywords
Performing Groups

EMILY STILSON
DOCTOR
NURSE
AMY
BILLY
MR. BRAMBILLA
MRS. TIMMINS

In the original production actors doubled in the roles of Doctor/Mr. Brambilla and Nurse/Mrs. Timmins.

In the original production actors doubled in the roles of Doctor/Mr. Brambilla and Nurse/Mrs. Timmins.

  • Time Period Present Day, 1970s
  • Setting A unit set representing Emily’s home, a hospital, a rehab center and Emily’s mind.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“Soaring, lyrical, poetic... a meditation on life, death, memory and expression that, quite simply, takes your breath away.” – Chicago Sun-Times

“A moving, pristine chamber musical... extremely powerful. In 1978, it felt like something of an honor to see a show like Wings. That feeling remains unchanged.” – Variety

“Wings is all that good theatre should be... A transcendent musical-theatre piece where language, music and emotion meet to create some exquisite, newly imagined form of communication... Soaring, lyrical, poetic, a meditation on life, death, memory and expression that, quite simply, takes your breath away.” – Chicago Sun-Times

Music

1. “Prologue”
2. “The New Daredevils Of The Air (Recording)”
3. “Catastrophe”
4. “Globbidge”
5. “Wait – Stop – Hold – Cut”
6. “My Name Then...”
7. “All In All (Part 1)”
8. “Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Part 1)” – Amy & Group (Recording)
9. “Makey Your Name Powers”
10. “I’ll Come Back To That (Part 1)”
11. “Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Part 2)” – Recording
12. “I’ll Come Back To That (Part 2)”
13. “Yum Yummy Yum”
14. “I’ll Come Back To That (Part 3)”
15. “Tither”
16. “All In All (Part 2)”
17. “I Don’t Trust Him”
18. “Malacats”
19. “Needle”
20. “Interlude: Wings Theme”
21. “Out On The Wing”
22. “Interlude”
23. “I Wonder What’s Inside”
24. “Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Part 3)”
25. “A Recipe For Cheesecake”
26. “Like The Clouds”
27. “Clouds Transition”
28. “Preparing For Flight”
29. “Snow Transition”
30. “Snow”
31. “Snow Tag”
32. “Wings Transition”
33. “Wings”

Full Orchestration
Keyboard I Conductor
Keyboard II (Synthesizer)
Reed (Flute, Clarinet)
Cello

Percussion

Wind Chimes
Vibraphone
Suspended Cymbal
Triangle
Orchestra Bells (Glock)
Bass Drum
Snare Drum
Tri-Toms (different pitches)
Timpani

Sound effects and the pre-recorded song “The Daredevils of the Air” used in the original production for the Goodman Theatre in Chicago are available from Mr. Richard Woodbury: E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: 847-641-1287

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway, Operetta, Contemporary Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Minimal
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Medium
  • Chorus Size Medium

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
9 Libretto
9 Keyboard 1-Conductor
1 Keyboard 2
1 Reed
1 Cello
1 Percussion

9 Libretto
9 Keyboard 1-Conductor
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Authors

Jeffrey Lunden

Jeffrey Lunden

Arthur Perlman (Book and Lyrics) and Jeffrey Lunden (Music/Orchestrations) are authors of the award-winning adaptation of Arthur Kopit's Wings, produced at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York (1994 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical) and The Good ...

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Arthur Perlman

Arthur Perlman

Arthur Perlman (Book and Lyrics) and Jeffrey Lunden (Music/Orchestrations) are authors of the award-winning adaptation of Arthur Kopit's Wings, produced at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York (1994 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical) and The Good ...

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Arthur Kopit

Arthur Kopit

Arthur Kopit (1937-2021), throughout a career spanning seven decades, authored an extraordinary string of admired, acclaimed and award-winning stage works, beginning with Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad, which Jerome Robbins directed on ...

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