THE FELT MENAGERIE Comes to The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will be presenting the world premiere live production of The Felt Menagerie, a comedy spoofing tropes and characters from the plays of its namesake playwright Tennessee Williams. Most of the larger-than-life characters will be portrayed by a cast of puppets in the style of Sesame Street or the Muppets, but this is an adults-only affair.

The salacious action centers around Blanche Dubious (not to be mistaken for Blanche DuBois—for that, audiences will need to wait for the July/August 2024 production of A Streetcar Named Desire), as she mistakenly joins a group of ladies and goes on an emotional odyssey of memory and mania while never leaving the rec room of a small-town Southern church. A proverbial revolving door seems to spill a group of familiar but off-kilter Williams characters into their company, only compounding the zaniness.

Hope Kodman stars as Blanche Dubious with Jay Canova as her carousing brother-in-law Stanley. Rebecca Elizabeth Hollingsworth makes a return to the TWTC stage after her lauded performance in Kingdom of Earth as Maggie the Cat. Other TWTC veterans include Delphine J and Kyle Daigrepont. Judy Lea Steele plays a new version of Amanda Wingfield, which she portrayed in 2019’s The Glass Menagerie with the company, and Tracey E. Collins will reprise a comedic version of Big Daddy, which she acted in 2022’s For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls. Tia Williams makes her TWTC debut with this production.

The first weekend of the show will be at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge in Arabi; the second weekend will be at UNO’s Nims Theatre; and the final weekend will be at the New Marigny Theatre at the Church of Arts & Sciences. Tickets are available thought the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans’ website. TWTC is performing in these neighborhoods for the first time as part of its commitment to bring its productions to diverse areas and populations in its community.

The Felt Menagerie is written by TWTC Founding Co-Artistic Director Augustin J Correro and is a Lagniappe production for the organization’s eighth season. It will showcase the quality of artists TWTC audiences have come to expect; however, it is a smaller scale production as a part of the tour. 

Puppets designed by Kenneth Thompson.

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