tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post5952618676907169235..comments2024-03-28T00:18:42.009-04:00Comments on The Wicked Stage: Flashback: Als v. AugustRob Weinert-Kendthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015688507553252146noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post-43949722277196131512013-05-15T10:48:10.418-04:002013-05-15T10:48:10.418-04:00WHile I'm unsure why you needed reminding here...WHile I'm unsure why you needed reminding here... the other weird thing about this review is that Radio Golf was essentially a first draft. While that gives us a fascinating look into Wilson's writing practice, what we see when we compare it to his other plays is how much work he did in improving them between early drafts and final versions. <br /><br />It's not that Als is necessarily wrong about Radio Golf, it's just that using that play as a cudgel to beat up on the other plays in the cycle is ridiculous.<br /><br />(I also agree that it shows a lack of familiarity with Wilson's work. Als doesn't seem to know that one of the characters is the protagonist from Two Trains Running thirty years later, or that the characters are descended from characters in Gem of the Ocean and Joe Turner's Come And Gone. The piece is self-consciously an epilogue, which makes it not work dramatically but makes it very moving and satisfying if you're really invested in the cycle. I have to imagine that, had Wilson had more time, he would've found a way to make the play work on both levels.) isaac butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815094790605298884noreply@blogger.com