Suddenly Last Summer

In these pages the department shares information about Tennessee Williams and his 1958 play.

Dramaturgy

We include a biographical sketch of Tennessee Williams; essays about St. Sebastian and the Encantadas; notes on early lobotomies and the criminal punishment of homosexuals in the 1950s. The essays were written by dramaturg Tom Shafer and assistant dramaturg Kim Hinton. We based some of our writing on a biographical chronology of Tennessee Williams that was researched and written by Molly Sullivan when she was an undergraduate research assistant to the dramaturg several years ago.

From the production team

Notes on the play by director Howard Jensen were the basis for the designs and the overall approach to the production.

From the production conferences, we reproduce notes from the presentations of scenic designer Wes Peters, along with his rendering of the set and a photograph of the set from the production.

Costume designer Alexandra Morphet has written a brief essay about the costumes and has permitted us to publish her renderings.