Tennessee Williams Meets Burlesque—Outdoors!

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans is flying to new heights with Dangerous Birds (If Agitated), opening November 4th uptown at Phillips Bar. The vast outdoor patio of the neighborhood institution will be the staging area for three outrageous short comedies by Tennessee Williams tied together as an ornithology lesson by Burlesque staple Bunny Love. Theatre-goers will be able to enjoy show-themed cocktails while they watch the capers unfurl in this patio-turned-"atrium" where anything can happen-and will!

The plays featured in each evening's performance will be The Gnädiges Fräulein, Sunburst, and The Pronoun "I", all by Tennessee Williams.

"These are all plays from the latter half of Williams' career, with the oldest dating to 1964. While they all have undertones of the career and personal struggles of America's greatest playwright, what you'll notice stands out most about these plays is that they're incredibly funny and wild," says TWTC Co-Artistic Director Nick Shackleford, "It's an unapologetically fun event."

These plays cover various topics including crazEd English royalty, political revolution, smoking reefer, assault by giant birds, and even murder and jewelry theft! While the plays may not seem to connected, Bunny Love explains it all for you as Professor Birdine Hazzard, a defunct ornithologist with burlesque inclinations. TWTC is so excited to create a production which incorporates burlesque, one of New Orleans's great cultural art forms. Needless to say, there's opulence and bare skin throughout the evening. This is a TWTC undertaking unlike any before-and it's not to be missed!

"Dangerous Birds is a collection of plays which were largely ahead of their time, and which were overlooked in the playwright's lifetime since the critics were always holding out for another Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or A Streetcar Named Desire," explains Augustin J Correro, TWTC Co-Artistic Director: "Now we get to present them live, in living color, and screamingly hysterical-how they were written. The emotional punches in these plays are thrown with physical sight gags, broad comedy, and often crude and lewd characterization-while still balanced with Williams' poetic spirit. Also, these shows are super-sexy."

Equally exciting to the unique venue and sexy, uproarious plays is the extraordinarily talented cast. Joining Bunny Love, who doubles as the night's hostess and the titular Gnädiges Fräulein are New Orleans favorites Mary Pauley (The Rose Tattoo, Flowers in the Attic, Clyborne Park) andMorrey McElroy (A Lie of the Mind, Orpheus Descending). Rounding out the stellar ensemble are Chris Silva, Abby Botnick, Hebert Benjamin, and Pearson Kunz. The adept cast will be doubling and sometimes tripling their roles in a mind-boggling fracas of feathers and talons.

This fall at Phillips Bar, TWTC has set the stage for maniacal mischief, steamy situations, and feathered fun. Grab a cocktail and your tickets forTennessee Williams: Dangerous Birds (If Agitated)!

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