Wings of Desire

Based on Wim Wenders’s unforgettable film, Wings of Desire is about the borders, visible and invisible, that divide us—borders between East and West, between angels and people, between two human beings. Damiel, a guardian angel, falls in love with a lonely trapeze artist, sacrificing his wings and his immortality to join her on earth—and to taste human life.

For this stunning new stage adaptation the A.R.T. is partnering with Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ premier theater company. Wings of Desire is staged by Ola Mafaalani, one of Europe’s most celebrated young directors, whose productions are contemporary, passionate, physical, and intensely alive.

In association with Toneelgroep Amsterdam.

SYNOPSIS

Damiel and Cassiel are angels, assigned for eternity to observe and catalogue human behavior. Damiel has begun to yearn for more than his remote, spiritual existence; he yearns for human contact, for physical sensation, and for love. He encounters Marion, a lonely trapeze artist, and begins to fall in love with her. As the angels go about their daily business—helping those in distress, listening to the thoughts of the elderly and the dying, recording the diversity of human experience—Damiel grows increasingly restless. Eventually he decides to trade in his wings and his eternal life for human mortality, and to join Marion in the world.

Frieda Pittoors, Hadewych Minis, and Fred Goessens are appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance in this production.

Major Production Sponsors
Ted and Mary Wendell

Production Sponsors
Martha Cox and Andrew McKay

Additional Production Support provided by
The Netherland-America Foundation

Also made possible by a grant from
The Netherlands Culture Fund