CAMINO REAL by Tennessee Williams Opens in New Orleans at the Marigny Opera House This July

You've never seen Tennessee Williams like this before. From the characters to the setting, nothing compares to Camino Real. The play takes place in a mythic border town situated in the Southwest, or perhaps tucked just inside of Mexico, which sits in the shadow of a gargantuan border wall built to keep the bad hombres out-or is it built to keep the residents of the town in? This summer The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will transport audiences to this sultry dreamscape at the glorious Marigny Opera House (725 St. Ferdinand Street) beginning in July and running through August.

TWTC Co-Artistic Director Nick Shackleford says of the show, "It's like Tennessee Williams meets Salvador Dali on the set of Waiting for Godot. Here we have different characters from romantic literature colliding in the same space and time, connected in the search for meaningfulness." The Marigny Opera House provides a suitably immersive environment for this unique event.

In 1953, Camino Real was a departure from Williams' other Broadway blockbusters, focusing on outliers from society and symbolic characters from history and fiction rather than Southern belles and the people who can't live with them.

"If it was ahead of its time then, I can't think of a more perfect time to stage this piece than now," suggests director Augustin J Correro, "It's like nothing else in the Williams canon. It's pArt Theatre, part street fair, part opera."

With themes of danger from abroad, national paranoia, and the looming specter of totalitarianism, the play is very timely. Nevertheless, Williams' wit and humor come bursting through and the heroes on the Camino are unflaggingly optimistic in the face of desperation-and that's definitely recognizable as a signature Williams motif.

TWTC has assembled a team of over 30 collaborators including 22 actors to pull off this daunting venture. Audiences will relish in performances by New Orleans staple Carol Sutton as Marguerite Gautier-perhaps better known as Camille-alongside other local favorites James Howard Wright, Mary Pauley, Roger Magendie, and Lin Gathright, among others. Christopher Robinson and Rachel Rodriguez headline the spectacle as the doomed couple Kilroy and Esmeralda, making their TWTC debuts. Truth be told, all the characters may be facing their doom, and they're each just one bargain in their non-stop hustles away from jail-or worse.

The play is a dark, voluptuous carnival featuring such characters as Don Quixote, Lord Byron, Casanova, and Kilroy, a boxer who represents the innocence and hope of the American dream. Through a series of traps, roadblocks, and devious plots which Kilroy must navigate, Williams takes us on his journey to see if the American dream can survive the real world. It is fast-paced, wild, and devastating from start to finish, showcasing the brutal and the beautiful truths about time spent on earth in the company of people.

Whose side are you on? The Generalissimo who wants to protect you from the harsh world beyond the wall, or the underdog boxer with the heart of gold? Find out this summer on the Camino Real!

Tickets can be purchased online at: www.twtheatrenola.com or by calling (504)-264-2580$25 for General Admission and $20 for students and seniors.
More about TWTC and Camino Real can be found at www.twtheatrenola.com or by calling (504)-264-2580.

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans is a year-round professional theatre company committed to producing captivating, exciting, and moving plays with a major focus on the works of America's greatest playwright, Tennessee Williams. In the city which Williams called home and from which he drew abundant inspiration, The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will engage our community and cultivate its relationship with Williams. We will accomplish this by mounting performances of well-known and rarely producEd Williams plays, contributing to the scholarship of Williams and New Orleans, and educating our community onstage and off with unique and stimulating programming.

Photo credit: JOHN LAVIN

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