The Thornton Wilder Society 2022: A Year in Review

The Thornton Wilder Society had a wonderful 2022 celebrating the 125th birthday of Thornton Wilder! Here are some highlights:

On Monday, November 14th, the Thornton Wilder Society and the Wilder Family presented the Thornton Wilder Prize to Michel Hausmann and Miami New Drama at The American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City. The evening began with a conversation with award recipient Michel Hausmann, the Artistic Director of Miami New Drama who premiered the Multilingual Our Town, as well as award‑winning playwright and essayist Sarah Ruhl and Tappan Wilder, and was followed by a reception. It was wonderful to celebrate with everyone.
Photos by JC Cancedda.

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We also held three Zoom Play Readings.

In March, members of the Thornton Wilder Society and Wilder fans gathered to read Trumpet, an adaptation of Wilder’s first full‑length play, The Trumpet Shall Sound, by Thornton Wilder Society member Jill Scharff. We all had a wonderful time reading this play and discussing and providing feedback on the adaptation.

“I am delighted with the interest from the Thornton Wilder Society in Trumpet, my two‑act adaptation of Wilder’s first full‑length play The Trumpet Shall Sound. The non‑traditional casting worked extremely well, and all the readers brought the play to life…. I was nervous that the scholars would object to the deviations from the original script, but they were very generous in justifying my choices about the ending. I would love to see the play in full production, but, in the meantime, reader’s theatre by TWS members was terrific and generated a discussion that tied this play to later themes. Flora being reminiscent of Dolly Levi, and the final speech reminiscent of the end of The Skin of Our Teeth. Thanks for a most enjoyable evening.” — Jill Scharff

In August, Thornton Wilder Society members and friends read Wilder’s last full‑length play, The Alcestiad, and we had a wonderful discussion afterward.

“Although I had read the play many times, I was impressed by what I had missed on the previous occasions: additional allusions to Our Town, and the fact, as Cheriander says, that Alcestis herself is a sign that there is a meaning to life.” — Steve Rojcewicz

And in December, Thornton Wilder Society members and enthusiasts gathered for our annual Zoom reading of The Long Christmas Dinner and Virtual Holiday Party.

“I enjoy the familiar faces at the readings and the discussion afterwards (this was the longest and the best discussion we’ve ever had). The play is a masterpiece; its reading should become a holiday tradition in every community, as it has for the Wilder Society.” — Lincoln Konkle

Be sure to join the Zoom Reading email list by emailing thorntonwildersociety@gmail.com to be the first to get the info on all the Zoom readings.

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Additionally, the fifth issue of the Thornton Wilder Journal was published in July. It is a special issue devoted to “Teaching Thornton Wilder” and includes articles on teaching Wilder’s novels, on teaching Shadow of a Doubt, on teaching Pullman Car Hiawatha, on teaching The Long Christmas Dinner, on teaching “Mozart and the Gray Steward,” and on teaching Our Town, as well as Performance Reviews of five recent productions of Wilder plays. The sixth issue will be out in early 2023.

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And finally, many of our members are doing great work in the realm of Wilder scholarship. In February we celebrated the book launch of Thornton Wilder, Classical Reception, and American Literature (Routledge, 2022) by Thornton Wilder Society Board member Stephen Rojcewicz. The first comprehensive book‑length study of Wilder and the classics, this work delineates how Thornton Wilder, a learned playwright and novelist, embeds himself within the classical tradition, integrating Greek and Roman motifs with a wide range of sources to produce his heart‑breaking masterpieces.

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We look forward to sharing Wilder with you in 2023!