Redwood Curtain by Lanford Wilson
"Redwood Curtain" is a play by Lanford Wilson that explores themes of identity, family, and societal issues through the story of Geri, a seventeen-year-old girl with a complex background. Geri's mother is a Vietnamese florist and her father is an American soldier who abandoned her after she was born. Adopted by an American couple, she grows up in California and becomes a talented concert pianist, poised for a successful career. However, the death of her adoptive father, Laird, who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, forces her to confront her past. After Laird's passing, Geri moves to the sequoia forest to live with her Aunt Geneva, where she embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with only a vague memory of his distinctive eyes.
The play also touches upon the plight of homeless veterans, represented by Lyman Fellers, who becomes a focal point in Geri's search. Wilson uses the redwood forest as a powerful symbol, critiquing the destruction of natural landscapes by industrial society, which he parallels with the destruction of familial ties. While "Redwood Curtain" faced mixed reviews during its Broadway run for its lengthy dialogue and lack of traditional action, it remains significant for its exploration of deep social concerns. In 1995, a television adaptation aired, which received a more favorable response than the stage version. The play is noteworthy for its blend of personal and societal themes, positioning Wilson as a thoughtful commentator on the challenges of both individuals and the environment.
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Redwood Curtain by Lanford Wilson
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First produced: 1992 (first published, 1993)
Type of work: Play
The Work
The play’s main character is Geri, a seventeen-year-old whose mother is a Vietnamese florist and whose father, an American GI, impregnated his lover and then disappeared. Another American soldier found Geri and took her to the United States. This soldier, Laird Riordan, and his wife, Julia, adopted Geri and raised her in California. Geri develops into a concert pianist who has a promising career before her. At seventeen, she already has a lucrative record contract with Sony.
Laird has carefully groomed Geri for the musical career that is now within reach for her. An alcoholic, Laird suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that, in part, accounts for the heavy drinking that leads to his death just as Geri’s career is beginning to take off. After Laird’s death, Julia sets out for Europe, leaving Geri in the care of her Aunt Geneva, who lives in a sequoia forest.
It is here among the redwoods of the play’s title that Geri puts her concert career on hold to search for her biological father. She has little information about him, although she does remember her birth mother telling her that he had one brown and one blue eye.
The redwood forest near Geneva’s house is home to a contingent of homeless war veterans who survive on their meager disability checks. Among this motley throng is Lyman Fellers. Because he has one brown and one blue eye, Geri is convinced that he is her father, although he actually is not.
Nevertheless, Geri pursues him relentlessly. Lyman, who just wants to be left alone, is the only one of the homeless veterans whom the audience meets, but he comes to represent all such veterans. Geri eventually redeems him somewhat unconvincingly by playing Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedies” for him.
Wilson introduces into the play one of his favorite topics—the rape of the land by an industrial society. Lumber companies unconscionably destroy centuries-old redwoods for quick profits. For Wilson, such destruction represents the destruction of familial roots as well. Wilson, in much of his work, introduces gardens and plants, which he contends can be saved only by artists. He uses them as props to shed light on the role of artists in society.
Redwood Curtain was not well received on Broadway. Because he did not want his audiences to be distracted at any point in its development, Wilson insisted that the play, long on diatribe and short on action and more than two hours in length, be presented without an intermission.
In addition, Redwood Curtain was pieced together from two of Wilson’s shorter, earlier plays. The joining of the two stories was, in this case, not seamless. Despite these reservations, Redwood Curtain is an important play in the Wilson canon because it reveals some of the artist’s most consuming social concerns.
In 1995, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) presented a two-hour adaptation of the play on prime-time television. This version was better received than the Broadway version had been.
Bibliography
Barnett, Gene A. Lanford Wilson. Boston: Twayne, 1987.
Bryer, Jackson R., ed. Lanford Wilson: A Casebook. New York: Garland, 1994.
Busby, Mark. Lanford Wilson. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 1987.
Dasgupta, Gautam. “Lanford Wilson.” In American Playwrights: A Critical Survey, edited by Bonnie Marranca and Gautam Dasgupta. New York: Drama Book Specialists, 1981.
Dean, Anne M. Discovery and Invention: The Urban Plays of Lanford Wilson. Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1994.
Gussow, Mel. “A Playwright at Home with Life’s Outsiders.” The New York Times, September 15, 2002, p. AR1.
Herman, William. Understanding Contemporary American Drama. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1987.
Hornsby, Richard Mark. “Miscarriages of Justice.” The Hudson Review 56 (Spring, 2003): 161-167.
Schvey, Henry I. “Images of the Past in the Plays of Lanford Wilson.” In Essays on Contemporary American Drama. Edited by Hedwig Bok and Albert Wertheim. Munich: Max Huber Verlag, 1981.
Williams, Philip Middleton. A Comfortable House: Lanford Wilson, Marshall W. Mason, and the Circle Repertory Theatre. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1993.