"...A four-day orgy of all things Williams."
- Boston Phoenix
The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival was founded in 2006 by Dr. Jerry Scally, Alix Ritchie, Patrick Falco, and David Kaplan. The agreed upon mission:
- To host performances that examine and celebrate Tennessee Williams' work, life and evolving historical importance including the playwright's own connection to Provincetown.
- Honor Williams as a playwright of enduring and international relevance and significance. * Encourage the searching spirit of Williams' writing to inspire new creative work.
- Draw on Provincetown's perspective as the longest-running American artist colony where serious modern American drama was born.
The first Festival presented works written by Williams in Provincetown including The Glass Menagerie, the world premiere of Williams' 1940 gay romance The Parade and the Hong Kong Repertory Theater's Cantonese The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. The second Festival featured the daring avant-garde texts Williams wrote after turning sixty, including the world premieres of his life-affirming Sunburst and the burlesque The Pronoun 'I'.
The third Festival concentrated on the inspirational images of love in Williams’ writing with a dozen events, including the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ erotic play Green Eyes. The fourth festival, The Fight for Life, showed the fierce strength necessary for survival in a dozen events including A Streetcar Named Desire from New Zealand, a production of Miss Julie from Norway, a WW II tour of Ptown, and ten plays written by Williams set in hotel rooms performed in hotel rooms.
Under the Influence is the theme of the fifth annual Festival, where Williams’ work will be complemented by the poetry, music, film and plays that inspired him. The innovative four-day celebration will feature our eighth Tennessee Williams world premiere, plus new plays, dance, music and visual art – all inspired by America’s great playwright, Tennessee Williams.
Programming for the festival is curated by David Kaplan. The festival director is Jef Hall-Flavin.