- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“Passing Veterans Green on my way home from the Westport Country Playhouse last week, I was struck by the suddenly ambiguous statue of a World War I doughboy carrying his kit bag, helmet and rifle. Somehow, he looked burdened rather than glorious, more worn-out than brave. Surely the memorial hadn’t changed; it was me. I was coming from David Wiltse’s new play and my head was full of questions about America’s participation in that tragic, famously unnecessary conflict. A playwright who rattles the way you see things must be doing something right. In SEDITION, Mr Wiltse reaches back to his own family history, chronicling his grandfather’s World War I run-in with the enforcers of patriotism. It’s a compelling story in itself, but Mr Wiltse pointedly underlines the parallels between Woodrow Wilson’s decision to enter the war against Germany and George W Bush’s decision to invade Iraq …” —Sylviane Gold, New York Times
“David Wiltse’s political drama SEDITION … is an eloquent, incisive and witty play sure to push a theatergoer’s buttons and trample raw nerves. In the tradition of Ibsen’s AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE and Mamet’s OLEANNA, SEDITION is a passionate plea for personal freedom, honor and justice. Just as Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE examines a (then) contemporary injustice — HUAC’s bullying effort to ruin liberalism through the prism of a bygone travesty, the Salem witch hunts of the 1690s — Wiltse’s use of the past begs the question of the present … SEDITION is provocative theater filled with complexity and expressiveness. To whichever side one leans, it is highly unlikely that the play will leave anyone feeling indifferent.” —E Kyle Minor, New Haven Register
Author(s)
David WiltseDavid Wiltse is the winner of a Drama Desk Award for "Most Promising Playwright" for his first produced play, SUGGS, which was done at Lincoln Center. His second play was the comedy DOUBLES, which ran for the 1985 – 86 season on Broadway. Four other plays, A GRAND ROMANCE, A DANCE LESSON, TEMPORARY HELP, and CRAZY HORSE AND THREE STARS have been produced at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, and elsewhere. TRIANGLES FOR TWO was first produced at the Westport Country Playhouse in 2000. THE GOOD GERMAN was introduced at the Westport Country Playhouse in 2003. A MARRIAGE MINUET was given its premiere performance at Florida Stage in 2005, and a farce, SCRAMBLE! (formerly HATCHETMAN), premiered at the same theatre in December 2006. His most recent play, SEDITION, was first produced at the Westport Country Playhouse in August 2007. In January 2006, David Wiltse was appointed to the position of Playwright-in-Residence at the Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, Connecticut. As a novelist, Mr. Wiltse has had twelve books published. Into the Fire, was made a main selection by the Literary Guild. His first novel, The Wedding Guest, was picked as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year by The New York Times. Prayer for the Dead was similarly chosen as a book of the year by Time Out magazine in London. Other works by Mr. Wiltse include more than 50 theatrical screenplays, television screenplays and television pilots. A comedy series created by Mr. Wiltse, Ladies Man, ran for a season on CBS-TV. Mr. Wiltse is the recipient of an Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for a television movie, The Revenge of the Stepford Wives. Other awards include the Nebraska Sower Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts and the Westport Arts Achievement Award for Literature. A MARRIAGE MINUET was nominated for a Carbonell Award as Best New Work. Mr. Wiltse has also been awarded three grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for his work for the theater, and an NEA grant for work on SEDITION.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally produced by Westport Country Playhouse, CT
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
Related Plays
$11.95 Play Description
Harley Granville Barker, the most influential theatre-maker of his time, finds himself adrift in America during the Great War. Estranged from the theatre, and with his spirit almost broken by an acrimonious divorce, English dramatist Harley Granville Barker seeks refuge in the relative obscurity of a quiet backwater, Williamstown, Massachusetts. He finds comfort in the congeniality of his fellow refugees and in the courtesy of strangers — and gradually begins to regain his faith in humanity and his belief in the central role of theatre in the civilized community.
Production Info
Cast: 7 total (2 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 130 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Dark secrets bubble to the surface as two strangers — one a priest, the other a noted art historian — share a surreal confession at the “exclusive” Bimini Baths, circa 1918. Years before, a young immigrant drowned under mysterious circumstances.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (2 male)Full Length Drama (about 60 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
The true story of two actors who hired themselves out to the Long Beach Police Department in 1914 to entrap “social vagrants” in public restrooms. Thirty-one men were arrested, and the ensuing scandal led to an ordinance against “oral sodomy” in California.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (2 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes