Burn This Tickets

By: Lanford Wilson
Director: Michael Mayer
Producer: David Binder
Cast list: Adam Driver (as Pale), Keri Russell (as Anna Mann), David Furr (as Burton), and Brandon Uranowitz (as Larry)
Design: Derek McLane
Lighting: Natasha Katz
Costume: Clint Ramos

A fiery passion ignites out of a shared tragedy in “Burn This,” the Lanford Wilson drama that premiered in 1987 with acclaimed performances from Joan Allen and John Malkovich. In the play’s first Broadway revival, helmed by Tony Award-winning “Spring Awakening” director Michael Mayer, Adam Driver and Keri Russell take on the respective roles of Pale and Anna — who find each other in the most unlikely of situations.

When Robbie, a New York City dancer, and his male lover Dom drown in a tragic boating accident, Robbie’s brother, Pale, unexpectedly rolls into town to mourn his loss and collect his belongings. More devastated, perhaps, is Robbie’s roommate and dance partner, Anna. And though it seems unlikely that Anna would ever fall for the unhinged restaurant manager from Montclair, NJ — considering her relationship with a more successful screenwriter, Burton (David Furr) — Pale is determined to make a way into her heart.

What to watch for

“Burn This” first came to life on a car ride home to Manhattan from Sag Harbor, in which playwright Lanford Wilson was told a story about his friend’s roommate who died — and whose family never knew he was gay.

The character of Pale was crafted from Wilson’s real-life anxiety attack, during which the playwright came home and wrote down all his symptoms.

“Burn This” is Wilson’s most-revived play. It was last seen in New York in a 2002 Off-Broadway Signature Theatre Company revival, starring Catherine Keener and Edward Norton.