1000 Airplanes on the Roof

Synopsis#

The drama is set in New York City with a sole character, “M”, who recalls encounters with extraterrestrial life forms, including their message: It is better to forget, it is pointless to remember. No one will believe you. You will have spoken a heresy. You will be outcast. In the staged production, “M” performs in the midst of a three-dimensional, holographic set. In the classic sense of the word melodrama, the role is performed by an actor in a spoken monologue over music. In the world premiere, “M” was played by a male actor; in many of the US performances, the character was played alternately by female actor Jodi Long and male actor Patrick O’Connell.

Discography#

*Philip Glass: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (The Philip Glass Ensemble and Linda Ronstadt; Martin Goldray, Music Direction), 1989. Virgin 86106-2

Book#

The libretto and images of the original set are published in: *Philip Glass, David Henry Hwang and Jerome Sirlin (Introduction by John Howell), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith Book, 1989

Further reading#

• 1000 Airplanes on the Roof at PhilipGlass.com.
• Hedy Weiss Philip Glass pilots ‘Airplanes’ into inner reaches of the mind, (Review of the US premiere in Philadelphia), Chicago Sun-Times, September 29, 1988. Retrieved via subscription July 5, 2008.
• John Rockwell, “A Mixing of Media From Philip Glass” (Review of the New York premiere performance, The New York Times, December 16, 1988. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
• Kevin Kelly, ‘Airplanes’ can’t sustain its fancy flights, (Review of the Boston premiere performance), The Boston Globe, September 20, 1989. Retrieved via subscription July 5, 2008.
• James Schellenberg, Review of the book and CD, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Challenging Destiny, March 2001. Retrieved July 5, 2008.
• John Young, https://www.allmusic.com/album/1000-airplanes-on-the-roof-mw0000299026#review AllMusic.com, 2002 Retrieved February 2, 2024