John Wulp

John Wulp (May 31, 1928 – November 27, 2018) was an American scenic designer, producer, director, and artist.[1][2][3]

John Wulp
Born	May 31, 1928 New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Died	November 27, 2018 (aged 90) Rockport, Maine, U.S.
Known for	Scenic Design, Producer, Director
Notable work	Dracula The Crucifer of Blood Passione Bosoms and Neglect Gorey Stories
Awards	Tony Award for Best Revival Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design OBIE Award Outer Circle Critics Award Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award

Theatrical career

Wulp's first play, The Saintliness of Margery Kempe, won a Rockefeller Grant and was produced at the Poets' Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 19, 1957.[4] Wulp also won an Obie Award for his direction of the 1961 stage play Red Eye of Love by playwright Arnold Weinstein. A musical adaptation of the play, with lyrics and libretto by Wulp and Weinstein, and music by Sam Davis, first premiered on Wulp's hometown island of North Haven, Maine[5] before opening at the O'Neill Center in 2007.[6] On September 4, 2014 Red Eye of Love the Musical opened Off-Broadway at the Amas Musical Theater in New York City.[7]

Wulp won a Tony Award for Best Revival for his production of Dracula in 1978, which starred Frank Langella, with set designs by Edward Gorey, and opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 20, 1977. He received a Tony Award nomination and also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design for the 1979 production of The Crucifer of Blood. Wulp later went on to win an Outer Circle Critics Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award when the play was performed at the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London and at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. His other Broadway credits include Passione, Bosoms and Neglect, and Gorey Stories.[8]

Personal life

Born and raised in New Rochelle, New York,[9] Wulp studied scenic design at the Yale School of Drama.[3] In the 1970s, he ran the Nantucket Stage Company on Nantucket.[10]

In 1992, Wulp left New York and moved to the island of Vinalhaven, Maine. While there he taught at a community school on the adjacent island of North Haven; for which he later became a theater director. In 1999 he created the musical Islands with singer-songwriter Cidny Bullens. It later went on to play at the New Victory Theater in New York City in 2001.[3]

Wulp retired from teaching in 2005.[11] He died at the age of 90 in Rockport, Maine.[12]

Broadway / Off-Broadway Productions

• Red Eye of Love (1961) - The Living Theatre (director)
• Dracula (1977) - Martin Beck Theatre (producer)
• The Crucifer of Blood (1978) - Helen Hayes Theatre (producer/scenic design)
• Gorey Stories (1978) - Booth Theatre (producer)
• Bosoms and Neglect (1979) - Longacre Theatre (producer/scenic design)
• Passione (1980) - Morosco Theatre (producer)
• Red Eye of Love (Musical) (2014) - Amas Musical Theatre (producer / lyricist)

References

1. Retirement Won't Diminish Theater Director's Influence - Health - redOrbit
2. Keyes, Bob. "John Wulp: The Cure for What Ails ..." Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
3. Gussow, Mel. "In A Sea Of Careers, Artist Has Never Been An Island". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
4. OCLC World Cat. The Saintliness of Margery. OCLC 44468704.
5. Broadway.com. "Red Eye of Love". Retrieved 2013-11-07.
6. Playbill.com. "Red Eye of Love Reading". Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
7. Ben Brantley (Sep 4, 2014). "High Whimsy and Low Expectations at the Meat Market". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
8. Internet Broadway Database: John Wulp Credits on Broadway
10. "Wulp, John". Artists Association of Nantucket. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
11. Independent Lens . ON THIS ISLAND . The Cast | PBS
12. Burnham, Emily. "Tony Award winner living on Vinalhaven dies at 90". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

Further reading

• Wulp, John (2003). John Wulp. Commonplace Pub Llc. ISBN 0965164551.
• Gibson, John (2005). Enjoying Maine's Islands. Down East Books. ISBN 0892726776.
• Atkinson, Patrick (1996). Theatrical Design in the Twentieth Century: An Index to Photographic Reproductions of Scenic Designs. Greenwood. ISBN 0313297010.
• Dello Stritto, Frank (2000). Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain. Cult Movies Pr. ISBN 0970426909.
• Heidenry, John (1995). Theirs Was The Kingdom: Lila and DeWitt Wallace & the Story of the Reader's Digest. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. ISBN 0393312275.