Shirley Knight to Star in Final Tennessee Williams Play

According to The New York Times, actress Shirley Knight will lead IN MASKS OUTRAGEOUS AND AUSTERE, Tennessee Williams' final full length play which has never before received a stage production.

Knight has been cast has Babe. Her character is described as "a wealthy Southern belle who is kidnapped."

She has appeared in other works by Tennessee Williams and was nominated for an academy award for her performance in the film version of 'Sweet Bird of Youth.'

"In a telephone interview Ms. Knight described this character as 'fierce and wonderful' and compared her with other strong women from Williams’s plays like The Glass Menagerie and Sweet Bird of Youth. She added: 'There is a whole other dark comedy quality to it. It’s very funny. It is unique, but you know it is his voice. It’s Tennessee. It couldn’t be anybody else.'"

IN MASKS OUTRAGEOUS AND AUSTERE, directed by David Schweizer, is set to play at Culture Project from April 5 to May 26.

"Williams wrote the manuscript over a span of four years until his death, in 1983, and it was kept out of the public eye for years by Gavin Lambert, who worked with Williams on it and to whom he entrusted the manuscript. Mr. Lambert released the play shortly before he died, in 2005, and the work eventually reached Mr. Schweizer."

Shirley Knight has appeared Off-Broadway in Love, Loss, and What I Wore, and at the George Street Playhouse, starring in Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are, written and directed by Arthur Laurents. Miss Knight has done extensive work in theatre, film, and television. She has won numerous awards including the Tony with two nominations, three Emmy awards with ten nominations, two Golden Globes with three nominations, The Venice Film festival Best Actress Award, and two Academy Award nominations among others.

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Photo Credit: Jennifer Forchelli