John C. Wilson
Encyclopedia
John C. Wilson was an American
theatre director and producer.
, Wilson started out his working life as a stockbroker.
by Noël Coward
in 1924, Wilson met Coward and soon became his business manager and lover. Wilson used his position to steal from Coward, but the playwright was in love and accepted both the larceny and Wilson's heavy drinking.
Wilson began his theatre career in 1931 as General Manager for the original Broadway
production of Coward's hit play Private Lives
. He began producing shows on Broadway in 1935, including Coward's Tonight at 8:30
in 1936 and Set to Music
in 1939. Wilson's first project as a director was another Coward work, Blithe Spirit
, in 1941.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre director and producer.
Early life
Born in Lawrenceville, New JerseyLawrenceville, New Jersey
Lawrenceville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 3,887...
, Wilson started out his working life as a stockbroker.
Career
During the run of The VortexThe Vortex
The Vortex is a play by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The story focuses on sexual vanity and drug abuse among the upper classes. The play was Coward's first great commercial success....
by Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
in 1924, Wilson met Coward and soon became his business manager and lover. Wilson used his position to steal from Coward, but the playwright was in love and accepted both the larceny and Wilson's heavy drinking.
Wilson began his theatre career in 1931 as General Manager for the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Coward's hit play Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
. He began producing shows on Broadway in 1935, including Coward's Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8.30 is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if,...
in 1936 and Set to Music
Set to Music
Set to Music is a musical revue with sketches, music and lyrics by Noël Coward.Produced by John C. Wilson, the Broadway production opened on January 15, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances...
in 1939. Wilson's first project as a director was another Coward work, Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
, in 1941.
Additional credits
- 1952: The Deep Blue Sea (Producer)
- 1951: Make a WishMake a Wish (musical)Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
(Director) - 1950: The Lady's Not for BurningThe Lady's Not for BurningThe Lady's Not for Burning is a 1948 play by Christopher Fry.A romantic comedy in three acts, set in verse, it is set in the Middle Ages, it reflects the world's "exhaustion and despair" following World War II, with a war-weary soldier who wants to die, and an accused witch who wants to live...
(Producer) - 1949: Gentlemen Prefer BlondesGentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical with a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Loos...
(Director) - 1948: Kiss Me, KateKiss Me, KateKiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(Director) - 1947: The Winslow BoyThe Winslow Boythumb|1st edition cover The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.-Performance History:...
(Producer) - 1946: Present LaughterPresent LaughterPresent Laughter is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 and first staged in 1942 on tour, alternating with his lower middle-class domestic drama This Happy Breed...
(Producer and Director) - 1945: The Day Before SpringThe Day Before SpringThe Day Before Spring is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.-Productions:The 1945 touring production closed in Chicago after three days due to a crippling coal strike...
(Producer and Director) - 1944: Bloomer GirlBloomer GirlBloomer Girl was a Broadway musical that premiered on October 4, 1944. Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy wrote the book, Harold Arlen the music, and E.Y. Harburg the lyrics. Agnes de Mille was the choreographer...
(Producer) - 1942: The Pirate by S. N. BehrmanS. N. BehrmanSamuel Nathaniel Behrman was an American playwright and screenwriter, who also worked for the New York Times.-Early Years:...
(Director)