VIEUX CARRE By Tennessee Williams Comes to New Orleans August

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans returns to the Marigny Opera House for a second year with Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams. The play follows a young writer like Williams himself in the spring of 1939 when he first falls in love with New Orleans while staying in a rooming house shared with a cast of eclectic quarter characters. 722 Toulouse Street is the house in question, one of Williams' first homes in the French Quarter. This kicks of a season of New Orleans plays for the company to celebrate the city's 300th anniversary.

The house is run by a domineering, tough-as-nails landlady, Mrs. Wire (played by Tracey Collins) and her domestic sergeant Nursie (played by LaKesha Glover). Among the boarders are Jane Sparks, a New York debutante running from something inexplicably frightening, and her beau Tye, a strip show barker who works on Bourbon Street (played by Megan Whittle and Levi Hood); a now-destitute painter suffering from a distressing affliction (Kyle Daigrepont); and a pair of starving society ladies, played by New Orleans stage favorites Janet Shea and Adella Gautier. Jake Bartush plays the Williams-esque young writer, and the cast is rounded out by Toriano Hayward and Nathaniel Trawog. Beau Bratcher directs.

"The play is special because it showcases Williams' understanding of the desperate situations that some folks come to the city with and the ways they wrestle with them," says TWTC Co-Artistic Director Augustin J Correro, "It's so tender, honest, and grippingly powerful. You know every one of these people. It's like Williams' version of historical fiction."

Big Easy Award-winning Director Beau Bratcher adds, "This takes us back to when Tennessee Williams fell in love with the city, and if you can fall in love with these people with these situations, that tells you something about the place. I've been wanting to direct this play in New Orleans for a long time!"

Bratcher has assembled an all-star cast and team to render this portrait of the French Quarter that Williams first learned the ropes in. Before there was Streetcar, there were the ghosts of 722 Toulouse. What's unique is that this is a relatively late play, so Williams was able to write in distant retrospective, making the characters fuller and more sympathetic in their foibles. Don't miss this opportunity to see where the magic of Williams' New Orleans all began!

To purchase tickets visit: www.twtheatrenola.com or call: 504-264-2580

Photo Credit: James Kelley