The play is part of the Talley Trilogy, a series of Wilson plays revolving around the Talley family of Lebanon, Missouri. The other plays, both set on July 4, 1944, are Talley's Folly, a one-act dialogue between Sally Talley and her husband-to-be, Matthew Friedman, and Talley & Son, the story of a power struggle between Sally's father and grandfather.
Kenneth Talley Jr. is a gaydouble amputeeVietnam veteran living in his childhood home with his boyfriend, botanist Jed Jenkins. At the beginning of the play, he is due to return to his former high school to teach English, but has decided not to. Visiting Ken and Jed are Ken's sister, June Talley, and her daughter, Shirley, as well as Ken and June's longtime friends, John Landis and his wife Gwen, inheritor of a large industrial copper conglomerate. John is ostensibly visiting to purchase the Talley house for Gwen to convert to a recording studio, so that she can have a career as a country singer. Unbeknownst to anyone but June, John and Ken, Shirley is actually John's daughter, and the visit is also his attempt to gain joint custody of Shirley. Ken, meanwhile, believes that the singing career is a way of distracting Gwen so that John can take over her business. Other visitors include Weston Hurley, Gwen's guitarist, and Ken's aunt, Sally Talley, who still has her husband Matt's ashes in a candy box a year after his death. The play culminates with a "bidding war" between Sally and John for the house, after it is revealed that Ken plans on selling it to Landis. Sally ultimately outbids Landis and says she will give the house to Jed so he can finish his garden.
Notes and drafts for Fifth of July are held in the Lanford Wilson Collection at the University of Missouri Libraries
September 05, 2023
fifth, july, this, article, about, 1978, play, american, holiday, york, venezuelan, holiday, independence, venezuela, 2005, watershed, album, 1978, play, lanford, wilson, rural, missouri, 1977, revolves, around, talley, family, their, friends, focuses, disillu. This article is about the 1978 play For the American holiday see Fifth of July New York For the Venezuelan holiday see Independence Day Venezuela For the 2005 Watershed album see The Fifth of July Fifth of July is a 1978 play by Lanford Wilson 1 Set in rural Missouri in 1977 it revolves around the Talley family and their friends and focuses on the disillusionment in the wake of the Vietnam War It premiered on Broadway in 1980 and was later produced as a made for television movie Fifth of JulyWritten byLanford WilsonDate premieredApril 27 1978 1978 04 27 Place premieredCircle Repertory CompanyNew York CityOriginal languageEnglishSeriesTalley TrilogyGenreComedySettingThe Talley Place a farm near Lebanon Missouri The play is part of the Talley Trilogy a series of Wilson plays revolving around the Talley family of Lebanon Missouri The other plays both set on July 4 1944 are Talley s Folly a one act dialogue between Sally Talley and her husband to be Matthew Friedman and Talley amp Son the story of a power struggle between Sally s father and grandfather Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Production history 3 Notes 4 ReferencesPlot summary EditKenneth Talley Jr is a gay double amputee Vietnam veteran living in his childhood home with his boyfriend botanist Jed Jenkins At the beginning of the play he is due to return to his former high school to teach English but has decided not to Visiting Ken and Jed are Ken s sister June Talley and her daughter Shirley as well as Ken and June s longtime friends John Landis and his wife Gwen inheritor of a large industrial copper conglomerate John is ostensibly visiting to purchase the Talley house for Gwen to convert to a recording studio so that she can have a career as a country singer Unbeknownst to anyone but June John and Ken Shirley is actually John s daughter and the visit is also his attempt to gain joint custody of Shirley Ken meanwhile believes that the singing career is a way of distracting Gwen so that John can take over her business Other visitors include Weston Hurley Gwen s guitarist and Ken s aunt Sally Talley who still has her husband Matt s ashes in a candy box a year after his death The play culminates with a bidding war between Sally and John for the house after it is revealed that Ken plans on selling it to Landis Sally ultimately outbids Landis and says she will give the house to Jed so he can finish his garden Production history EditFifth of July debuted off Broadway at the Circle Repertory Company on April 27 and closed on October 1 1978 Directed by Marshall W Mason the cast starred William Hurt as Kenneth Talley Jr Jeff Daniels Amy Wright Danton Stone and Jonathan Hogan who also composed the incidental music for the production 2 The production was designed by John Lee Beatty 3 It ran for 159 performances 2 The play made its Broadway debut at the New Apollo Theatre on November 5 1980 directed by Mason with Daniels reprising the role of Jed Christopher Reeve as Ken and Swoosie Kurtz as Gwen Replacement actors for the role of Ken included Richard Thomas Michael O Keefe Timothy Bottoms and his brother Joseph Bottoms Laraine Newman replaced Kurtz as Gwen Kathy Bates was also a replacement in the role of June A television film was made in 1982 directed by Mason and Kirk Browning The film stars Daniels Kurtz Hogan Stone Cynthia Nixon Joyce Reehling Helen Stenborg and Richard Thomas as Ken the role in which he succeeded Reeve on Broadway A revival starring Robert Sean Leonard as Ken and Parker Posey as Gwen was included in the Signature Theater Company s 2002 2003 tribute season to Wilson Notes Edit Wilson Lanford Fifth of July New York Dramatists Play Service 1982 a b Fifth of July 1978 Lortel Archives Accessed September 4 2015 John Lee Beatty iobdb com Retrieved 2020 01 02 References EditFifth of July at IMDb Fifth of July at the Internet Broadway Database Notes and drafts for Fifth of July are held in the Lanford Wilson Collection at the University of Missouri Libraries Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fifth of July amp oldid 1120055256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
