Wendy and the Lost Boys

by Julie Salamon

  144. “ferocious comic talent”: Mel Gussow, “Theater: A Sea of Gags; U.S. Family Is Subject of Durang’s ‘Titanic,’ ” New York Times, Mar. 17, 1976, 34.

  144. “There’s no ignoring the author’s clownish exuberance”: Mel Gussow, “Stage: Shorter ‘Titanic’; Christopher Durang’s Play, on Twin Bill With ‘Lusitania,’ Still Floats Poorly,” New York Times, May 11, 1976, 26.

  144. “self-congratulatory, self-indulgent, numbingly unfunny”: Village Voice.

  145. Wendy helped arrange a job . . . book about schizophrenia: Sidney J. Blatt and Cynthia M. Wild, Schizophrenia: A Developmental Analysis (New York: Academic Press, 1976).

  147. “I slipped a note”: Referring to The Coronation of Marie de Médici in Saint-Denis by Peter Paul Rubens, the seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter.

  Nine: Tryout Town, USA, Summer 1977

  155. The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center had theatrical romanticism: The theater’s history is available on its Web site, www.theoneill.org/.

  155. This beloved stretch of beach: Tom Verde, “Eugene O’Neill Center May Get Remains of Tycoon Who Chased Him Off It,” New York Times, Oct. 7, 1996.

  159. Until 1972, just five years before Swoosie Kurtz confronted Rita’s line: Janice Delaney, Mary Jane Lupton, Emily Toth, The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation (Champaign: University of Illinois Press edition, 1988), 134.

  161. Honor Moore, “Theater Will Never Be the Same,” Ms., Dec. 1977.

  Ten: The Emergence of Wendy Wasserstein, 1977-78

  167. “The dream kept almost materializing”: Walter Kerr, “Stage View, Farewell to a Theater, Greetings to New Talents,” New York Times, Dec. 26, 1982.

  174. “Dramatic Wit and Wisdom Unite”: Richard Eder, “Dramatic Wit and Wisdom Unite in ‘Uncommon Women and Others,’” New York Times, Nov. 22, 1977.

  177. Anne Cattaneo, author interview, May 22, 2009.

  Eleven: Orphans’ Christmas, 1978-79

  187. Christopher Durang, author interview, Feb. 6, 2009.

  189. “The Cheever subtlety is lost in a torrent”: John J. O’Connor, “TV: A Series of Stories by John Cheever Begins,” New York Times, Oct. 24, 1979.

  191. He called himself a “quackster”: Wendy Wasserstein, speaking at Ed Kleban’s memorial service, Feb. 11, 1988.

  196. “If I do say so myself”: Sandra’s written memory of Andrew appears in Wendy’s Mount Holyoke Archive as a typed document that doesn’t indicate whether it was a letter, a diary entry, or a eulogy.

  Twelve: Design for Living, 1980-83

  205. For years there was only one photograph: Wendy Wasserstein, “Design for Living,” Life, Dec. 1992.

  205. “In the theater one always forms”: Ibid.

  206. “None of us really opposed”: Ibid.

  206. Just twenty years earlier: Gail Collins, When Everything Changed (New York: Little, Brown, 2009), 308.

  209. “I was 28 or so”: Michiko Kakutani, “A Play and Its Author Mature,” New York Times, Jan. 3, 1984.

  210. The New York Times ran an affectionate: Leslie Bennetts, “An Uncommon Dramatist Prepares Her New Work,” New York Times, May 24, 1981. 21

  1. Wendy never forgave the scissors: From taped interview with Wendy and director Daniel Sullivan at Marymount Manhattan College, part of a series of lectures sponsored by the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and the American Theatre Wing. http://americantheatrewing.org/sdcfmasters/detail/wendy_wasserstein_and_daniel_sullivan.

  212. André liked plays that set off what he called an “unconscious click”: Douglas C. McGill, “He Nurtures the Gifted Playwright,” New York Times, Jan. 3, 1982.

  212. “Why am I working off Broadway?”: John Lombardi, “Playwrights on the Horizon,” New York Times Magazine, July 17, 1983, Section 6, 22.

  212. “Our ‘social concerns’”: Ibid.

  213. In the summer of 1983: Ibid.

  213. A year earlier André had been: McGill, “He Nurtures the Gifted Playwright.”

  216. “At one long-forgotten fiasco”: Frank Rich, “The Lives They Lived: Everybody’s Wendy,” New York Times, Dec. 31, 2006.

  217. “Some day, I swear”: Frank Rich, “Comedy; Durang’s ‘Beyond Therapy,’” New York Times, May 27, 1982.

  219. “Are we eternally doomed”: Frank Rich, “STAGE: 2 One-Act Plays by Harry Kondoleon,” New York Times, June 20, 1984.

  219. Unlike many artists, who claim they don’t read their reviews: Claudia Barnett, “Interview with Wendy Wasserstein,” in Wendy Wasserstein: A Casebook, Claudia Barnett, ed. (New York and London: Garland, 1999), 180.

  219. “It’s the perfect time”: Laurie Johnston, “A Director with Authenticity,” New York Times, Feb. 21, 1984.

  220. “There’s as much of me in Harriet”: Kakutani, “A Play and Its Author Mature.”

  220. Reviewers approved of the changes: Roundup of reviews from Wendy Wasserstein: A Casebook, 196–208.

  223. When successful plays, like Isn’t It Romantic: Lombardi, “Playwrights on the Horizon.”

  Thirteen: Miami, 1984-86

  228. “If the company is run by a 65-year-old”: Michael VerMeulen, “Yes, it’s true what they say about Bruce Wasserstein,” Institutional Investor, Apr. 1984, 140.

  228. Wider recognition, outside the business pages: Paul Cowan, “The Merger Maestro,” Esquire, 59.

  230. “Sometimes I wonder”: Wasserstein, “Big Brother,” Bachelor Girls, 82–83.

  230. “We travel in orbits”: Ibid., 83.

  230. A reference to Bruce: Mary Cunningham with Fran Schumer, Powerplay, What Really Happened at Bendix. New York: Linden Press, 1984, p. 261.

  232. “The holidays were a time”: Wasserstein, “Christmas in Flatbush,” Bachelor Girls, 191.

  Fourteen: Rooms of Her Own, 1986-87

  241. “I was seized with panic”: Wasserstein, “Christmas in Flatbush,” Bachelor Girls, 191–92.

  241. In subsequent years she and Fay: Wasserstein, “Days of Awe: The Birth of Lucy Jane,” Shiksa Goddess, 206.

  241. He had begun wearing Brooks Brothers in prep school: Wasserstein, “Reflections on Leather Rhinos,” Bachelor Girls.

  241. “Seized by a moment”: Ibid., 69.

  242. It was André who converted Wendy: Wasserstein, “The Muse That Meowed,” Shiksa Goddess, 124.

  245. “There isn’t much to say about my relationship with Nina”: Stephen McCauley, The Object of My Affection (New York: Washington Square Press, 1987), 72.

  247. The two women already knew each other: Michiko Kakutani, “A Play and Its Author Mature,” New York Times, Jan. 3, 1984.

  247. Wendy talked about people who had “nut-juice”: Michiko Kakutani, “A Remembrance of Wasserstein,” a booklet compiled for Wasserstein’s memorial service, Mar. 13, 2006.

  248. She was married: After having three children together, she and Landesman divorced and Ettinger dropped Landesman as her surname.

  251. For the Times Magazine: Wasserstein, “Boy Meets Girl,” Bachelor Girls, 199.

  251. “Rest in the midmorning”: Wasserstein, “Body Minimal,” Bachelor Girls, 24.

  Fifteen: The Heidi Chronicles, 1988–89

  261. “In order to complete my writing”: Wasserstein, “A Second Act for the Playwright’s Central Park West Apartment,” Architectural Digest, 30.

  265. They replied with a spoof: Terrence McNally and Wendy Wasserstein, “The Girl from Fargo”: A Play by Terrence McNally and Wendy Wasserstein, New York Times, Mar. 8, 1987.

  268. The play cost $175,000: Laurie Winer, “In Moving Uptown, a Hopeful ‘Heidi’ Takes a Gamble,” New York Times, Mar. 12, 1989.

  268. Within five years: Donald G. McNeil Jr., “Why Neil Simon Decided to Turn His Back on Broadway,” New York Times, Nov. 21, 1994.

  269. “I stared at the delicate”: Wasserstein, “Dear Broadway, This Isn’t Really Goodbye,” Shiksa Goddess, 156, 157.

  269. “I’d never been someone who won”: Interview with Laurie Winer, Paris Review,
no. 14, Spring 1997, 20, 21.

  270. Wendy wasn’t in the mood: Ibid., 21.

  270. Wendy lightened the Lola story: Wasserstein, “Winner Take All,” Bachelor Girls, 195.

  271. “The phone started ringing off the hook”: Winer, Paris Review, 21.

  Sixteen: Wendy Wasserstein, Inc., 1990-92

  280. “Even with a personal assistant”: Wasserstein, Elements of Style (New York: Vintage, 2006), 11.

  282. Both couples are gay-friendly: Frank Rich, “Struggling to Love, but Aware of the Odds,” New York Times, June 26, 1991.

  282. “A producer must have the cunning”: Frank Rich, “Stage View; The Last of the One-Man Shows,” New York Times, Sept. 22, 1991.

  283. “While none of these producers”: Ibid.

  Seventeen: Thicker Than Water, 1990-93

  290. “Chekhov tells us a story”: Wasserstein, “Theater Problems? Call Dr. Chekhov,” Shiksa Goddess, 180.

  292. “The Cherry Orchard”: Ibid., 183.

  296. “In an almost Pirandellian stroke”: Wasserstein, “How I Spent My Forties,” Shiksa Goddess, 190.

  297. “I am to learn that breast cancer treatment”: Ibid., 191.

  299. “Part of the explanation”: Judith Miller, “Theater; The Secret Wendy Wasserstein,” New York Times, Oct. 18, 1992.

  300. As they followed “the Lola Schleifer Wasserstein Freedom Trail”: Wasserstein, “Poles Apart,” Shiksa Goddess, 161.

  300. Wendy’s desire to have a child: Wasserstein, “How I Spent My Forties,” Shiksa Goddess, 196.

  301. “There’s nothing like sitting in a fertility doctor’s office”: Ibid., 192–93.

  Eighteen: The Objects of Her Affection, 1993-98

  310. She thought the apartment: Wasserstein, “A Second Act for the Playwright’s Central Park West Apartment,” Architectural Digest, 40.

  313. “As election year arrived”: Frank Rich, “Exit the Critic,” New York Times, Feb. 13, 1994.

  314. Wendy felt Baird was a scapegoat: Wasserstein, “Hillary Clinton’s Muddled Legacy,” Shiksa Goddess, 19.

  315. She brought Wendy with her: Wasserstein, “How I Spent My Forties,” Shiksa Goddess, 196.

  315. “I’ve stumped the star”: Ibid.

  316. The admiration was mutual: Wasserstein, “Perfect Women Who Are Bearable,” Bachelor Girls, 78.

  317. Most crushing was the slap: Ben Brantley, “In the Hostile Glare of Washington, the Media Define and Defy,” New York Times, Apr. 14, 1997.

  317. Lloyd Rose of the Washington Post: Lloyd Rose, “Wasserstein’s Daughter: Thin and Flighty,” Washington Post, Apr. 14, 1997.

  318. The only family member to know was Sandra: Wasserstein, “How I Spent My Forties,” Shiksa Goddess, 194–95.

  318. “I thought of Sandra valiantly”: Ibid., 194.

  Nineteen: Festival of Regrets, 1998-99

  328. In an impassioned article: Wasserstein, “Hillary Clinton’s Muddled Legacy,” New York Times, Aug. 25, 1998.

  329. “Now, the impressive personal qualities”: Ibid.

  333. Beatty designed the sets for The Sisters Rosensweig and An American Daughter.

  335. “I am certain that I became a playwright”: Wasserstein, “A Place They’d Never Seen: The Theater,” Shiksa Goddess, 7.

  335. Wendy had begun to reconcile herself: Wasserstein, “Days of Awe: The Birth of Lucy Jane,” Shiksa Goddess, 209.

  336. Wendy had been struck: Wasserstein, “My Manhattan; A Lifetime of Memories and Magic,” New York Times, May 23, 2003.

  Twenty: The Birth of Lucy Jane, 1999

  344. These tactics help explain: Wasserstein, “Complications,” the New Yorker, Feb. 21, 2000, 87.

  Twenty-One: The New Millennium, 2000-01

  360. After watching a performance of Vienna Waltzes: Wasserstein, Old Money (New York: Harcourt), x.

  360. “There were a bowl of three dozen roses”: Ibid., vii, viii.

  365. “I had my child so late”: Interview with A. M. Homes, Bomb magazine, Spring 2001.

  365. “My life has changed completely”: Ibid.

  Twenty-Two: Welcome to My Rash, 2002-04

  373. She experienced her share of the side effects: www.compath.com.

  376. “The morning was a clear winter blue”: Wasserstein, “My Manhattan; A Lifetime of Memories and Magic,” New York Times, May 23, 2003.

  376. Recalling the affecting scene: Jill Krementz in “A Remembrance of Wendy Wasserstein,” booklet compiled for her memorial service at Lincoln Center Theater, Mar. 13, 2006.

  381. “I find myself unable to touch it”: A. M. Homes, Bomb, Spring 2001.

  383. André had been put on the defensive: John Lahr, “Deep Pockets Run Shallow,” the New Yorker, Dec. 25, 2000 & Jan. 1, 2001, 167.

  Twenty-Four: Legacy, 2005-06

  416. “Frankie wasn’t angry”: Wasserstein, Elements of Style, 281.

  424. Her memorial service: Jesse McKinley, “An Overflow Crowd Attends a Wendy Wasserstein Tribute,” New York Times, Mar. 14, 2006.

  424. “How could the most public artist”: Frank Rich, “Everybody’s Wendy,” New York Times, Dec. 31, 2006.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Balakian, Jan. Reading the Plays of Wendy Wasserstein. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2010.

  Barnett, Claudia, ed. Wendy Wasserstein: A Casebook. New York and London: Garland, 1999.

  Barrie, J. M., Peter Pan. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2007. (First published as Peter and Wendy in 1911.)

  Bianco, Anthony. Ghosts of 42nd Street: A History of America’s Most Infamous Block. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.

  Brustein, Robert. Making Scenes: A Personal History of the Turbulent Years at Yale 1966–1979. New York: First Limelight Edition, 1984.

  Burrough, Bryan and John Helyar. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. 20th Anniversary Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

  Ciociola, Gail. Wendy Wasserstein: Dramatizing Women, Their Choices and Their Boundaries. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998.

  Cohan, William D. The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. New York: Doubleday, 2007.

  Collins, Gail. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present. New York: Little, Brown, 2009.

  Collins, Ken (photographer) and Wishna, Victor (interviewer). In Their Company: Portraits of American Playwrights. New York: Umbrage Editions, 2006.

  Cunningham, Mary, with Fran Schumer. Powerplay: What Really Happened at Bendix. New York: Linden Press, 1984.

  DeMott, Benjamin. Surviving the 70’s. New York: Dutton, 1971.

  Epstein, Helen. Joe Papp: An American Life. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994.

  Friedman, Martha. Overcoming the Fear of Success. New York: Warner Books, 1980.

  Harris, Roy. Conversations in the Wings. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994.

  ———. Eight Women of the American Stage: Talking about Acting. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997.

  Heilbrun, Carolyn G. Writing a Woman’s Life. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988.

  Kondoleon, Harry. Diary of a Lost Boy. New York: Knopf, 1994.

  Lecomte du Noüy, Mary. The Road to Human Destiny: A Life of Pierre Lecomte du Noüy. New York: Longmans, Green, 1955.

  McCauley, Stephen. The Object of My Affection. New York: Washington Square Press, 1988.

  Nisbett, Richard E. Intelligence and How to Get It. New York: Norton, 2009.

  Rich, Frank. Hot Seat: Theater Criticism for “The New York Times,” 1980–1993. New York: Random House, 1998.

  Salinger, J. D. Franny and Zooey. New York: Little, Brown, 1961.

  Vilga, Edward. Acting Now: Conversations on Craft and Career. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

  Wasserstein, Bruce. Big Deal: Mergers and Acquisitions in the Digital Age. New York, Warner Business, 1998.

  Wasserstein, Bruce, and Mark J. Green, eds. With Justice for Some: An Indictment of the Law by Young Advocates. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972.

 
Wasserstein, Wendy. An American Daughter. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1998.

  ———. Bachelor Girls. New York: Knopf, 1990.

  ———. Elements of Style. New York: Knopf, 2006.

  ———.The Heidi Chronicles & Other Plays. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990.

  ———. Seven One-Act Plays. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2000.

  ———. Shiksa Goddess: Or, How I Spent My Forties. New York: Knopf, 2001.

  ———. The Sisters Rosensweig. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1993, 1997.

  ———. Sloth. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

  ———. Third. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2008.

  ———. Old Money. New York: Harcourt, 2002.

  Wasserstein, Wendy, and Andrew Jackness, illus. Pamela’s First Musical. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1996.

  Wouk, Herman. Marjorie Morningstar. New York: Back Bay Books, 1955, renewed 1983.

  Yeshivah of Flatbush Editorial Board. Yeshivah of Flatbush Golden Jubilee Commemorative Volume: 1927–1977. Brooklyn, NY: Yeshivah of Flatbush, 1977.

  Yglesias, Rafael. A Happy Marriage. New York: Scribner, 2009.

  INDEX

  Aaron, Caroline

  Adler, Felix

  Agee, William

  AIDS

  Albee, Edward

  Alfred A. Knopf

  Allen, Joan

  Altabef, Douglas

  American Academy in Rome

  American Ballet Theatre

  American Daughter, An (Wasserstein)

  TV movie of

  American Express

  Amherst College

  André’s Mother (McNally)

  And Tango Makes Three (Parnell and Richardson)

  Angels in America (Kushner)

  Aniston, Jennifer

  anti-Semitism

  Any Woman Can! (Reuben)

  Any Woman Can’t (Wasserstein)

  Aranoff, Gaya

  Architectural Digest

  Arena Stage

  Aristophanes

  As Is (Hoffman)

  Atheneum Publishers

  Augustine, John

  Avon Books

  Baby Boomers

  “Baby Boomers” (Wasserstein)