Wonder of the World

by David Lindsay-Abaire

Two years after Fuddy Meers floored both audiences and critics, David Lindsay-Abaire followed up his debut hit with Wonder of the World, and had critics searching for new superlatives. The New York production featured knockout performances by Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Sedaris. Ben Brantley, in the New York Times wrote "clearly, Mr. Lindsay-Abaire hasn't lost his playfully wicked eye, equally appalled and affectionate . . . his style both embraces and spoofs the All-American appetite for spiritual lift, sitcom perkiness, and slimy tabloid prurience."

A firm believer in destiny-and inspired by a Marilyn Monroe movie-Cass leaves her husband and boards a bus to Niagara Falls, where she hopes to meet the unknown man she believes herself fated to end up with. Along the way toward the inevitable climax on the brink of the waterfall, she checks items off her list of "things to do in life," and takes the audience on an often moving, always hilarious journey.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Read For School, Humor

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

David Lindsay-Abaire is an American playwright and lyricist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play, Rabbit Hole.

Reviews

[04allies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book can let people see that things aren’t always easy in the married world and there will be times that things don’t go the way we want them to. It’s never an easy world and when you throw marriage issues in the middle it makes it worse. Leaving isn’t always the best option either though, and help from people such as a counselor for marriage would definitely help The worse part of the book in my opinion would have to be the fact that the sailor killed himself trying to save the one he likes and actually wants to be with. If given the chance I think that reading another book by David Lindsay-Abaire would be great because he seems like a great author. This book made me feel like I couldn’t put the book down no matter how hard I tried. There was something about it that made me want to keep reading it until I was finished with it, even though it was somewhat of a depressing book because people weren’t happy with the way that things were going in their life, or wanting to kill themselves by jumping off of Niagara Falls. The discovery that I had while reading this book would have to be the fact that things aren’t ever perfect no matter how hard you want to fix them and make them better. Killing yourself is never the answer to anything. You must step up and try to help someone to protect them or even keep yourself going strong. All in all I think it was a great book that I would recommend to anyone to read.

[Tony Loyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absurdist fluff. Kind of what you would expect after stuffing Norm Foster and Christopher Durang into a blender and pouring out the contents. There were some funny moments, the group counseling scene has some genuinely hilarious parts on it, but for the most part it was just unfunny dialogue between unrelatable characters who felt like they were written extremely weird for the sake of being edgy or somehow profound. Not my thing but I could see this being received well as a comedy, particularly if staged well which I think would be particularly challenging to do (a scene with multiple helicopters and another with a barrel rushing towards Niagara Falls, this runs the risk of not playing and/or taking the audience out of the moment). There are better comedies out there.

[Sara Komo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019: Way over the line and definitely should be left in the early 2000's when it was written, but the specificity of the humor is still incredible.

2014: A riot. Not the best script, but it was the best production to work on.

[Jessica Whittemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was funny, and sad, and absurd. The feeling kind of reminded me of reading Tom Robbins, which I love. Certain throwaway (racist) jokes don't pass muster in 2020. I support Cass in her journey to find herself and try new things. Pretty fun!

[Chay Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsay-Abaire's "Wonder of the World" is a look into one woman finding her independence, her happiness, and her own sense of wonder. It's not my favorite of his works, and the comedy occasionally falls flat, but it's an enjoyable, chaotic ride that inspires us to find what makes us passionate.

[Mary Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Directed this play....which is so darkly comical. My lead actresses had great comic timing so that part was so easy. Brilliant script both in its humor and absurdity!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, completely ridiculous, not-PC, and a little skin-deep.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I really loved moments of this, but also found it a tad ridiculous at times, which I suppose, is possibly the point.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

read after choosing a scene for my acting class from this play

funky and weird but I do love me an DLA play

[Lorena · Rating 3 out of 5]

CASS: Yeah, just…everything. How do you even know what socks to put on in the morning when the color alone could change your destiny?

[Natalia Stornello · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome, funny play about the meaning of life and what makes life worth living for!

[val · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an entertaining play! definitely the funniest play i’ve read

[Alisa Mirabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

a crazy ride.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild ride…”Niagara Falls?. A barrel?”
I would LOVE to see this play.

[Daniel Pivonka · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Anjum Choudhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This play was interesting. A little too crazy for me in a lot of places, bu tit did have some good moments, especially just about humans, despite the over the top examples we had.

I will admit that the whole Barbie thing freaked me out a little. Which I'm chastising myself for because there's nothing wrong with sexual deviants as long as they're not hurting anyone else, and Kip certainly wasn't doing that. So, that being said, I did like Kip to some extent (until there at the end. It just went too far for me and the progression didn't seem natural. I understand that he was going through a breakdown--the point of which was truly hammered to death--but it just wasn't believable to me just with dialogue. Perhaps with a really good actor it would have been better.)

Cass, though...The crux of it all and a messy one at that. Let's just be honest here: she was horrible to Kip. Rude and unfeeling and I didn't like her. Honestly, if I were in her position, no, I don't think that I'd be able to stay with Kip. I understand that she was especially hurt just by the fact that he was keeping a secret, more than what the secret was. And I would feel that way as well. But also it would just be a fundamental difference that I would never be able to understand and therefore that would always be a large wall that would stand between us. So I'm not mad about her leaving. The manner in which she was going to do it was crappy but, I can't say that it was particularly out there. Next, her list was super weird. I mean, I can't fault that, but it was. He relationship with Captain Mike was super weird. She was very, very selfish. Basically, she wasn't likeable. Which isn't the end all be all in storytelling but still, in the midst of so much crazy, you want some likeablilty. Some empathy.

Fortunately, that came in the form of Lois. The best crafted character in the play and one that I enjoyed and saw real growth in and would like to play. I would definitely play the crap out of Lois. I mean, suicidalness and alcoholism kind of felt like they were thrown in there for the heck of it and, in a way, kind of contrived, but still, they're very common problems, so I can't be too mad. I thought that the alcoholism was played up too much but the suicidal depression was actually pretty good in places. Her blatant cries for help were great, the way she held on to Cass was great, even the way she held on to the barrel was kind of fun. And ultimately, her holding the message of the play at the end in the last scene was really nice. I thought it was really well done and touching and poignant without being too over the top. Which I wouldn't have seen coming, given the ridiculousness of the rest of this play.

I could touch on the other characters, but the last thing I'm going to say is, how the heck could this show ever be done on stage? A helicopter? Floating down a river in a barrel and hitting a rock? Geez Louise.

Basically, this play didn't hold on to realism as much as I personally like. But it did have some shreds of wisdom in it and I do think that it would be more interesting to see done than to read. I know that David Lindsay-Abaire is a good writer, so I'd like to see how a great director could interpret this work better than I did.

Oh, and I'm never doing the barbie head monologue. Never, never, never.

[Tung · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a massive fan of Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer-winning play "Rabbit Hole", and was looking forward to reading his earlier works. Wonder of the World was written 5 years before "Rabbit Hole" and received some acclaim, even opening in Manhattan with Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Sedaris in the cast. Wonder of the World derives its name from Niagara Falls, where the majority of the play takes place. A woman named Cass discovers a dark secret about her husband Kip that causes her to leave him and flee to Niagara Falls -- a place she had been scheduled to visit with her family years earlier, but where she didn't go because Kip had proposed to her; she now believes she should never have married Kip, and instead should have gone to Niagara Falls where fate would have delivered to her a soul-mate, and this trip to the Falls now might provide her some delayed redemption. On the way, she meets a suicidal drunk named Lois, and the two of them head to the Falls to see what destiny has in store for them. There, they meet a couple (Glen and Karla) who pose as tourists, but who are in reality amateur sleuths; they also meet Captain Mike, the widowed guide of a Niagara Falls tour boat. The plot then unfolds as we see Cass's relationship with Lois mix with Cass's relationship with Captain Mike and her relationship with Kip and Karla's and Glen's relationship with each other. What Lindsay-Abaire did great in Rabbit Hole, he also does well here: he writes superbly crisp lines of dialogue that express emotions realistically, and he handles relationship tensions well. He is also darkly funny, and there were lines in here I read out loud to my spouse, I liked them so much. There is a scene in here I found too over-the-top silly (a Newlyweds game take-off), and I found Cass's character too manic and too flighty for someone embarking on a new, more take-charge life. But overall, there was much to like in this play. Recommended read.

[Grace Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting to love this to the extent that I do. Packed full of hilarious, absurd, and touching moments. Every scene had me in stitches, from Lois "Are you gonna eat that aspic?" the Alcoholic Sidekick, to the hapless elderly private detective duo who have previously owned a yarn store and a pet grooming business: "Shit! We forgot the beards! The beards! The beards!"

[Anna Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Lindsay-Abaire continually is able to dramatize obscure human behaviors and mash them together to construct extremely heightened. situations. A truly cool aspect of his work is that multiple reads and mining the text for common themes reveals details that are easily overlooked during a first read. This play is much deeper than the humor on it's surface.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like this as much as Kimberly Akimbo, but still hilarious. Laughed out loud a few times. To be picky there were a couple of clunkers that surprised me and the ending was bit weak or I was too tired and trying to finish up the play before I went to sleep.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun playing the part of Cass when my college produced this show. There are so many options and opportunities for actors to explore and grow with their characters. It is a challenging but very rewarding show to be a part of!

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zany play about a thirty-something who flees her marriage to find meaning in life and do what she's always wanted, starting with a trip to Niagara Falls. Probably plays better than it reads. Pretty light treatment of relationship fare.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It was strange. Excessively strange. I liked some of the characters and the group therapy scene was entertaining but overall it just seemed odd for the sake of being odd, which isn't really the style of play I tend to prefer.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar in style to Fuddy Meers. Witty and fun but not fabulous.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

laugh out loud funny. probably funnier than funny meers. but i was left wonder what the point of it all was.

[Darius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great visual comedy framed by nicely honest confusion, then conclusion about leaving one's life and partner.

[Brandon Leighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy dark, absurdist comedies - think Christopher Durang - then you will enjoy this play. Not brilliant, but definitely an enjoyable read.

[Heather Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have performed several scenes from this play in various scene studies ckasses. This is a real work of genius. Funny, quirky, downright strange, and poignant, ONE DAY I WILL DO THIS SHOW.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, but a little fluffy.

[Carly Van Liere · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite play