1000 Airplanes on the Roof / by David Hwang

1000 AIRPLANES ON THE ROOF

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Text by David Henry Hwang
Created with Philip Glass & Jerome Sirlin

1000 Airplanes on the Roof is the story of “M.,” a New Yorker who is abducted by aliens, probed and questioned, then returned to Earth and told to forget the event. The ambiguity of M.’s experience – was it real or hallucinated? – is never fully resolved; it is a parable on contemporary’s man’s search for identity in a bewildering world. 

Originally presented in the Vienna Airport, Hanger #3 in 1988, directed by Philip Glass. Subsequent national and international tours, including an engagement at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, recreated the original production, including Jerome Sirlin’s holographic “visual libretto” projections.