It was a brilliant twist of fate, but several of the Las Vegas theatre companies, The Speeding Theatre, Super Summer Theatre, Majestic Repertory Theatre, and A Public Fit Theatre Company, all planned to mount productions of Tennessee Williams plays during the upcoming 2017-18 seasons. Recognizing a unique opportunity, the Artistic Directors came together, reached out to other organizations, and created the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival, a season-long project, which will celebrate the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and his works with five different events and a colloquium with the Artistic Directors discussing Williams and his work.
“It was solely by chance that all of the companies planned productions of Williams’ work,” said Troy Heard, Artistic Director of Majestic Repertory Theatre. “But it truly speaks to the iconic nature of his work.”
Williams is one of America’s most revered and celebrated playwrights. His work garnered two Pulitzer Prizes, 3 Tony Awards, 4 New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, and the Drama League Award for Best Play. In 1979, the Kennedy Center honored Williams for his lifetime contribution to the Arts.
Ann Marie Pereth, Artistic Director of A Public Fit Theatre Company, said “Williams work is timeless and universal. The themes and characters are still relevant in today’s world.”
Williams wrote prolifically through the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s. His works peeled back the veneer of gentility and exposed the frustration, violence, and sexuality that simmers beneath the surface.
“It is exciting to collaborate with other companies and build something bigger,” said Paul Malluk, Artistic Director for The Speeding Theatre. “The Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival can help elevate the theatre community in Southern Nevada.”
October 13-22, 2017 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Speeding Theatre & Super Summer Theatre
4340 S Valley View Blvd #210, Las Vegas, NV 89103
This Pulitzer Prize winning plays exposes a family’s web of lies, deception, and mendacity during their patriarch’s birthday.
November 13, 2017 Tennessee Williams Colloquium
The Artistic Directors of the four theatre companies come together to discuss their plays and their vision of their productions.
The Usual Space, 100 S. Maryland Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV 89101
January 11-28, 2018 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Majestic Repertory Theatre
Director Troy Heard takes a bold new approach to the Southern Gothic classic, illuminating the racial and sexual tensions that are the undercurrent to much of Tennessee Williams' works.
1217 So. Main Street, Las Vegas, NV 89104 majesticrepertory.com
February 2-10, 2018 Three by Tenn
African American Student Association of Theatre and Film, UNLV
An evening of rarely seen one-act plays by Tennessee Williams.
Majestic Repertory Theatre
1217 So. Main Street, NV 89104
February 16-March 11, 2018 The Glass Menagerie A Public Fit Theatre Company,
100 So. Maryland Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV 89101 apublicfit.org
This Tennessee Williams classic memory play that draws its action from the memories of the narrator, Tom Wingfield, about life with his mother Amanda and his disabled sister, Laura.
March 2-11, 2017 Suddenly Last Summer The Speeding Theatre & Super Summer Theatre,
A wealthy woman conspires to have her niece lobotomized to hide the truth about her son’s death in Spain.
4340 S Valley View Blvd #210, Las Vegas, NV 89103