MICHAEL
WELLER
Spoils of War
Second Stage Theater Company, New York, NY
Spoils of War tells the story of a 16-year-old boy's desperate attempt to reunite his mother and father—estranged since their early years as 1930s radicals, torn apart by W.W. II, and now, in the 1950s, living very different lives: mom as a bohemian, dad as a successful commerical photographer.
Michael
Weller has written more than thirty plays and screenplays. His plays include
Moonchildren, Fishing, Split, Loose Ends, Ghost
on Fire, Spoils of War, and Lake No Bottom. His new comedy
"Help!" was seen in the fall of 1995 at the Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles
and will open at the Circle Theatre in New York. His play for young audiences,
Dogbrain, was seen at the Humana Festival in Louisville; Buying Time
played at Seattle Repertory Theater. His films include Hair and Ragtime
(for Milos Forman) and Lost Angels (for Hugh Hudson). Upcoming film work
includes the screenplay for Michael Apted's production of The Sixteen Pleasures
(from the novel by Robert Hellenga), Showtime's Stranger at the Gate,
and Getting Rid of Alex for Chanticleer Films. One of his happiest professional
activities has been working with apprentice playwrights around the country,
several of whom have gone on to national acclaim, including Sally Nemeth, Heather
McDonald, Christopher Kyle, Joe McDonough, and Hunt Holman. Weller is a council
member of the Dramatists Guild of America and an advocate of the L.O.R.T. Contract
to provide minimum conditions nationwide for playwrights at all cooperating
theatres. He lives in New York with his wife Katherine Talbert and his two sons,
Ben and John.
Director: Austin
Pendleton
Set Designer: Kevin Rupnik
Lighting Designer: Betsy Adams
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
Choreography: Ronald Young
Featured Performers: Annette Bening, Larry Bryggman, Christopher Collet,
Kate Nelligan, Kevin O'Rourke, Alice Playten
Running Dates: April 22-June 26, 1988
