Suddenly Last Summer

This Williams one-act play is in the form of a crime story told by a traumatized young girl. A handsome doctor, tempted by a rich woman who might fund his research, must decide who to side with: the witness or her hostile listeners. To create the offstage poet-hero of the story Williams combined images of Orpheus in hell along with Hart Crane and his domineering mother. A reading of the text will be staged by Jodie Markell, the director of the recently released film written by Williams : “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond.” More about

American Gothic / 27 Wagons

WORLD PREMIERE
THEATER
Two plays, both set on a sun-drenched front porch: The never-before-seen American Gothic imagines the famous Grant Wood couple as the stern Midwestern parents of Bonnie and Clyde-style gangsters... and in the heat of the Mississippi Delta, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton will be staged on the historic porch of 160 Commercial Street. More about

Coffee With WILLIAM JAY SMITH

We create once-in-a-lifetime opportunities each year for our Festival-goers. This year, sip coffee with former US Poet Laureate William Jay Smith and hear first-hand stories about the man who became Tennessee Williams. More about

Diff'rent

THEATER
In 1940, Tennessee Williams saw a revival of Eugene O'Neill's 1920 play, Diff'rent. Set in a small New England fishing port, it is the personal tragedy of a girl named Emma, who turns from an idealistic virgin at age 20, to a sex-starved fool at 50. More about

Escape

THEATER
DANCE
Two plays, two different escapes: The sounds of a jailbreak interrupt a chain-gang’s nightly card game, and a teenage boy swims to his death rather than return to the life his domineering mother has planned for him. The plays will be shown with related original dance choreographed by Paula Frasz for her DanszLoop Chicago ensemble. More about

Jazz Funeral of Stella Brooks

MUSIC
THEATER
Songstress Stella Brooks -- “The white Billie Holiday” -- was the hit of the 1947 Provincetown summer season, and a personal friend of Williams. A New Orleans style funeral in her honor begins in a storefront church with live music, testifying mourners, and an umbrella-wielding second-line dancing down Commercial Street. More about

Laughing In the Dark with Tennessee

FILM CLIPS
Williams and the Movies!
Filmgoing was a seminal experience for Tennessee Williams. Author and film historian John DiLeo presents an eclectic array of fun and surprising clips. See the film stars that made an impression on a young TW, as well as how later films borrow shamelessly, pay tribute, or spoof Williams' work More about

Orpheus in the Galleries

VISUAL ART
Visit three neighboring Provincetown Galleries at your leisure to see the work of six artists related to the myth of the poet Orpheus who journeyed to the underworld and returned to share that vision. Paintings, sculpture, video and other media by renowned Cape artists will be installed at The Berta Walker Gallery, DNA and Artstrand. More about

Orpheus Descending

THEATER
Staged as a morality play in a Provincetown church, this Williams classic traces a boy-singer's descent into hell in the form of a small-town variety store. From New York's Infinite Theatre, who brought us the 2009 Festival’s crowd-pleasing Hotel Plays. More about

Bent to the Flame

A Night with Tennessee Williams
THEATER
POETRY
Hart Crane's poetry inspired a young Tennessee Williams. Doug Tompos brings his acclaimed one-person show from Los Angeles in which he presents Tennessee Williams besotted by the great American poet. More about