The many fans
of the high-spirited literary personality William Saroyan will be delighted
to see his work revived through the theatrical production In My Case An Exception Should Be Made: An Audience with
William Saroyan, conceived and performed by Todd Wronski. William
Saroyan was a pervasive literary figure of 20th century America.
At the peak of his career, he was highly popular and highly prominent figure.
His best known works and honors include; The Daring Young Man on the Flying
Trapeze (1934), The Time of Your Life (1939, Pulitzer Prize, Drama Critic’s
Circle Award), My Name is Aram (1940), and The Human Comedy (1940 Academy
Award for Best Picture and Best Writing Original Screen Story). His
eccentric and animated personality was often to be featured in magazine articles,
newspapers, and even through appearances on entertainment talk shows.
In short, William Saroyan was no less than a household name. Wronski
has taken selections from Saroyan’s diverse writings and woven them together
in order to bring the mid-century humorist to life on stage.
Working in
cooperation with the William Saroyan Foundation and Stanford University,
Wronski has compiled over a thousand quotes, excerpts, and other selections
in order to create the script for In My Case An Exception Should Be Made: An Audience With William Saroyan. Wronski
used Saroyan’s published works as well as archival materials which are
currently housed at Stanford University. He has spent almost two
years researching and weaving these selections together. The script
for the performance piece includes nearly all aspects of Saroyan’s various
writing. It offers a full three-dimensionality, including the professional
life, works, and opinions of the colorful character of Saroyan while maintaining
the vitality, humor, and idealism that were unique to his writing. The play's original production, in 2001, was perfromed in Edinburgh, Scotland and in the US. It was later revived for production on tour in California, and was recorded live for presentation on California Public Radio.
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Todd Wronski
is an actor, director and playwright. His professional acting credits
include roles with the Guthrie Theater, the Dallas Theater Center, Pennsylvania
Centre Stage and New York’s Cider Mill Playhouse. He has worked on
new play programs through the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, DC. He has directed over 40 plays in Minnesota, Texas,
North Carolina, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania. His original
play, Hotel Intolerato, was presented at Dickinson College, Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, United States where he currently teaches and directs. He recently was featured as Mark Twain in the original play Dickens and Twain: Crossing the Pond opposite British actor Tom Watson.