Gothamist: Wallace Shawn Talks Gossip Girl, Upper East Side Parents

Mr Mel

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:05:45 -0500

I'm still not convinced.

JacqueMehoff

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:08:05 -0500

he's like the new quentin crisp. love his work on the Cosby show.

Ronkonkoma Ondinnonk

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:23:19 -0500

Always fun to watch...

NannyState

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:00:32 -0500

Jesus he's aged, more like My Feeding Tube With Andre.

John Del Signore

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:57:37 -0500

Also too, #5: A devastating play called The Designated Mourner, for starters. http://www.graphesthesia.com/ws/plays/mourner.html

Scout1

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:54:03 -0500

#5, and he was awesome in Clueless.

sinisterteashop

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:48:21 -0500

#5, start with "Aunt Dan & Lemon" if you're serious about finding out. The thing about Wallace Shawn's plays is that they owe very little to any earlier writer. He writes on his own and in a very sardonic American voice. And his plays touch nerves that nearly every American writer has avoided. If a writers greatest is in both the mastery of his craft and the unique quality of his voice them Shawn is one of the greatest.

Mr Mel

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:30:19 -0500

What exactly did he write that would make him the the greatest contemporary American playwright? He plays bit parts in movies and his Broadway resume is limited. His father was the editor of the New Yorker for many years and he lived in his shadow. I've got nothing against this guy but let's not elevate him above and beyond his station.

JenChungsBra

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:55:11 -0500

I'll always remember him as the priest in the movie "Heaven Help Us" warning the students before a school dancd that if they engage in carnal pleasures they will spend eternity in hell with their flesh being ripped from their bodies by grotesque serpents.

sinisterteashop

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:24:32 -0500

Thanks! Many people believe he's the greatest contemporary American playwright. No joke... I'm halfway there to believing it myself.

indy

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:19:40 -0500

My dinner with Andre!

zodak

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:13:43 -0500

i keep waiting for him to say which rule of aquisition applies.