Orpheus Descending

Jul 22

Orpheus Descending

by Tennessee Williams
directed by Nick Potenzieri
starring Irene Glezos and Thomas Beaudoin

The Infinite Theatre

New York, New York

Orpheus Descending – a play Williams was writing in it's first incarnation as Battle of Angels when he first came to Provincetown in 1940 – was our thematic centerpiece in 2010. With sold-out houses, we were forced to turn away audiences. Now in a larger venue, the Festival is proud to bring back this amazing production by popular demand.

“This production of Orpheus Descending was thrilling. It featured outstanding performances…
I was transported outside myself to Williams’s haunting vision of a sacred and profane world."
- Robert Israel, EDGE Boston

Williams' first major production Battle of Angels opened in 1940 in Boston and was panned by the critics. This failure was devastating to Williams but he continued to work on the play for 17 years because he said "...nothing is more precious to anybody than the emotional record of his youth..." It reopened in 1957 and soon after became the groundbreaking film, "The Fugitive Kind" starring two of his favorite actors, Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani.

This Williams classic follows the handsome, guitar-playing Val as he descends into a hell of a small-town variety store. The timeless myth of a poet who travels to the underworld- and returns to our world to share his visions of love and pain- inspired Williams for decades.

A seaside church becomes our stage for a full version of the text performed as a morality play. From New York's The Infinite Theatre, who brought us the 2009 Festival's crowd-pleasing Hotel Plays.

Thomas Beaudoin as Val & Irene Glezos as Lady. All photos: Josh Andrus