Pink Triangle: The Feuds and Private Lives of Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Famous Members of Their Entourages - by Darwin Porter
One hot summer night in 1945, three young American writers, each an enfant terrible, came together in a stuffy Manhattan apartment for the first time. Each member of this pink triangle was on the dawn of world fame—Tennessee Williams for A Streetcar Named Desire; Gore Vidal for his notorious homosexual novel, The City and the Pillar; and Truman Capote for Other Voices, Other Rooms, a book that had been marketed with a photograph depicting Capote as a underaged sex object that caused as much controversy as the prose inside. Each of the three remained competitively and defiantly provocative throughout the course of his writing career. Initially hailed by critics as “the darlings of the gods,” each of them would, in time, be attacked for his contributions to film, the theater, and publishing. Some of their works would be widely reviewed as “obscene rantings from perverted sociopaths.” From that summer night emerged betrayals that eventually evolved into lawsuits, stolen lovers, public insults, and the most famous and flamboyant rivalries in America’s literary history. The private opinions of these authors about their celebrity acquaintances usually left scar tissue. Vidal became the most iconoclastic writer since Voltaire, needling and satirizing the sacred cows of his era and explosively describing subjects which included America’s gay founding fathers, the lesbian affairs of Eleanor Roosevelt, his own seduction of the Beat Generation’s spiritual leader and guru, Jack Kerouac. The book contains an overview of Vidal’s hot, then glacial, relationship with the fabled diarist Anaïs Nin, and the drawn-out slugfests which followed. Capote became the mascot of the ultra-fashionable jet set, surrounded and showcased by his glamorous “swans.” Eventually, Capote feuded not only with Vidal, but with “The Queen of the Best-Sellers,” Jacqueline Susann, publicly referring to her as “a truck driver in drag.” Capote’s own struggles for bestsellerdom are depicted during the research of his all-time hit, In Cold Blood, wherein he falls hopelessly in love with one of its killers. The book contains details about his hosting of “The Party of the Century,” and his self-destructive descent into isolation, alcohol, and drugs. Tennessee Williams, attacked for his “incurable sense of decadence,” became as notorious as his plays. His tumultuous private life is explored as never before in a portrait that’s as poignant and flamboyant as any character he created, including that of Blanche DuBois. Did Tennessee really perform fellatio on JFK at his Palm Beach compound? Did Warren Beatty really have sex with him as a means of procuring his role as the gigolo in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone? What really happened when a then-unknown actor, Marlon Brando, arrived on Tennessee’s doorstep in Provincetown during World War II?
Gretchen Cryer recently wrote a new musical with her granddaughter, Gracie Hyland, titled House on Fire. We have your exclusive first listen to a song from the show. Listen to “Early Teenage Crisis” here!
After a sold out run at the 2024 Twin Cities Horror Festival, the script for the camp horror comedy Let's Summon a Demon at Debbie's written by Brandon Monokian has been published by 1319 Press. Learn more!
The new album Reefer Madness: New Los Angeles Cast Recording, featuring the full cast from its critically acclaimed 25th Anniversary Los Angeles revival, is available on CD today. Learn more.
Rachel Potter, known for her roles on Broadway as well as her appearance on The X Factor, has revealed the full list of featured artists for her upcoming album, Stages.
An event featuring OVER THE SHOULDER: A Freelancer's Guide to Telling Stories and Editing Films by Mark Solomon, will be presented at The Drama Bookshop. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.
The Drama Book Shop in association with Jay Michaels Global Communications will present 'How To Sing Without Thinking' with Gabriel Weiner, a talkback, signing, and live podcast recording. Learn more!
Ari Axelrod's A Place for Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway – is available on CD and digital formats now. Learn more about the album and about Axelrod's upcoming performances.
The Drama Book Shop will present, in association with Jay Michaels Global Communications, 'JJ's Audition Adventure' - A talkback, signing, and live podcast recording with Javier Vazquez Jr and Denise Santos. Learn how to attend.
Valev Laube, the celebrated Estonian-American musician, composer, and multimedia producer, has finally released his highly anticipated debut album, Liminal. Now available across all major streaming platforms.
Schmigadoon! creator Cinco Paul has announced that he has co-written a new alphabet book based on the musical series. Written alongside Ray Kampf (who also created the illustrations), the book is described as 'a sophisticated whimsical and colorful alphabet book.'
Grammy Award winning Broadway, West End and opera artist Zachary James is set to drop a live album, recorded at the legendary Crazy Coqs in London, on New Year’s Eve 2024. Learn more!
Fans can prepare for the official Wicked digital and Blu-ray release with the extensive special feature listing which includes documentaries, deleted scenes, commentaries, and more. Take a look at the full list below!
Hadestown: Live from London – the original London cast album for Tony and Grammy Award-winning “Best Musical” Hadestown – has been released as a limited-edition deluxe gatefold “pop-up” vinyl. Learn more!
A delightful, rhythmic adventure is tapping its way into the hearts of little readers everywhere with the release of Tippy Toes and Tappy Heels by Amanda Pietsch. Learn more about the book!
BroadwayWorld is excited to debut the exclusive track 'Mama Ma' from the world premiere recording of the National Theatre production of Phaedra. Listen to it now.
A Kickstarter campaign has launched to raise money for the upcoming star-studded concept album of the new musical, The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul. Learn more about the album and see how to contribute!
Lending her voice to the audiobook is none other than Stephanie J. Block, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Cher in The Cher Show. BroadwayWorld is very excited to bring you an exclusive excerpt from the book- Chapter 2, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Listen here!
On Friday, February 28, 2025, New York-based German composer Reiko Füting will release his fifth portrait album, distantViolinSound, on New Focus Recordings.
The York Theatre Company will release an original cast recording for its World Premiere production of Welcome to the Big Dipper, a new musical comedy based on a true event. Learn more!
The Ucky Mucky Duck by Kayla Michiels, illustrated by Leesa Link, is now available to entertain and enchant children with a playful story of curiosity, mischief, and learning to listen.
Spirit of Wagner Award recipient Georgia Shreve has unveiled her holiday album, Spirit of Christmas. Featuring original compositions, timeless classics, and an all-star cast of performers, this collection promises to become an enduring part of the holiday music tradition.
Prepare to embark on a journey that spans galaxies and centuries in The Haunted Trail, the latest novel by John Lukegord. Learn more about the book here!
Milan Records has released QUEER (ORIGINAL SCORE) featuring music by two-time Academy Award® winners TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for director Luca Guadagnino’s new film. Listen to it now.
The full Chris, Mrs. - A New Holiday Musical studio album has been released. Featuring 16 original songs from Canadian husband-and-wife creative team Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr, Chris, Mrs. marries traditional holiday themes with a contemporary musical theatre sound. Listen to it here!
PS CLASSICS will release a new album from award-winning musical storyteller Ari Axelrod. A Place for Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway will be available on CD and digital formats. Learn more!
The Wicked movie is not the only Ozian content that consumers are enjoying. As the popularity of the film surges to an all-time high, readers are also flocking to Gregory Maguire's original 1995 novel for which the musical and film are based.
From theatre biographies to theatre fiction; theatre books for kids to theater history; check out our collection of 19 new Broadway books for every theatre lover's winter reading list.
Grammy and Tony nominee and Emmy winner Liz Callaway will release her new holiday single “There’s Still My Joy,” on Friday, December 6, 2024, on all digital platforms, including iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music.
Edinburgh's Christmas has announced multi-award winning actor Alan Cumming and author of bestselling book The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins will join book lovers Val McDermid and Nicola Sturgeon for a special festive edition of their in-conversation event, In The Company of Books.