Rent Auditorium in Columbus stood cavernous and dark on an August evening, save for a few lights high above its stage. Below them, a cast, director and crew gathered for play rehearsal. The imagined setting is an almost jungle-like garden in New Orleans in the late 1930s. As the lines penned by Tennessee Williams almost 60 years ago begin, his “Suddenly, Last Summer” emerges. Into a scene between two actors, the director steps in, deftly dissecting and exploring with them movements and inflections that more deeply reveal their characters.
Golden Triangle audiences will meet those characters during the 14th annual Tennessee Williams Tribute and Tour of Victorian Homes Sept. 6-13. The production is a highlight of the week-long celebration of the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and poet born in Columbus in 1911.
Augustin Correro directs the play made into a 1959 film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift. Correro is co-artistic director of the Tennessee Williams Theatre Co. of New Orleans, and a graduate of Mississippi University for Women. After Columbus, the production will move on to the Tennessee Williams Theater Festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Sept. 24-27.
Grief to greed
The cast composed of professional and area actors portrays a family embroiled in emotions ranging from grief to greed. At the center is an unseen presence, the late Sebastian Venable. He has mysteriously died while traveling abroad, accompanied by his cousin, Catharine Holly. Catharine returned from the ill-fated trip stunned and “babbling” a tale Sebastian’s mother, Violet Venable, cannot tolerate. Her goal is to convince a doctor to give Catharine a lobotomy, in hopes of wiping away the story that tarnishes her son’s memory.
Two professional actresses fill the pivotal roles of Catharine and Violet. Each has a long-standing affinity for Williams’ work. Both portrayed the characters this past spring in Southern Rep Theatre’s production of “Suddenly, Last Summer” in New Orleans.
On stage
Currin, a veteran film and stage actress based in New York and New Orleans, is pleased to revive Violet.
“I feel so lucky, because it’s always hard to leave a great play and a great role,” she said before rehearsal. Every director has a personal vision, so she is discovering new perspectives on the play. “I’m learning a whole other way to look at it,” shared the Actors’ Equity Association actress who has appeared in films including “In Cold Blood,” “The World According to Garp” and “Reds” as well as on Broadway.
Bartley has been a Williams devotee since she saw a production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” in Cincinnati as a teenager. The Juilliard-trained actress and singer has described “Suddenly, Last Summer” as “a very loaded play.”
“I think Catharine is the sanest person in the play,” said Bartley, who is also based in New York and New Orleans. “She needs to be heard, but nobody wants to hear the truth.”
Loyal Tribute patrons will recognize Bartley. She has performed in Columbus twice before, in the 2012 production of “Orpheus Descending” that toured Mississippi, and in a past Tribute event at the Columbus Country Club.
“It’s just really inspiring to be in the place where Tennessee Williams was born, because his writings have been my life’s passion,” Bartley said.
Away from home
During their weeks-long stay, the visiting actresses and director are enjoying a Magnolia State welcome. Currin and Bartley are hosted at Twelve Gables by Trudy Gildea. Correro is staying at the Lincoln Home Bed and Breakfast, hosted by Tribute founder and chair Brenda Caradine and her husband, Sid.
“Fred Haley and Jim Evans have provided bikes for them to see the Riverwalk and the sights of Columbus. The YMCA has arranged for use of their facilities for exercise. KK Norris at The Attic has opened her shop to us many times and has met with our director and actors to ensure period accuracy of costumes,” Caradine cited.
She noted, too, support from Mona Vance-Ali and the Billups Garth Archives, which houses the Tennessee Williams memorabilia collection at the Columbus library, and Friends of the Library Table Talk Chair Josie Shumake.
“I’m having the best time ever,” said Currin. “This is just one of the prettiest towns I’ve seen.”
For Correro, being back in Columbus directing on the stage he graduated on years earlier is a special experience. It was at The W that Correro “really got” Tennessee Williams, thanks in large part to adjunct instructor Brook Hanemann. Correro went on to graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University and to act, coach and direct around the country before co-founding the Tennessee Williams Theatre Co. in New Orleans.
“Being back here on this stage is surreal, to say the least,” the Greenville native said. “The nostalgia is palpable. This kind of full circle doesn’t come to everyone.”
He feels a kinship for the university and city, one that inspires him to give back with this play and opportunities for W students and area actors.
The cast
Joining Bartley and Currin in the cast are Laura Beth Berry, Cherri Golden, Vicki Hill, Drew Stark and Shane Tubbs, all from Columbus or Starkville. They will travel to Provincetown to perform.
Stark, formerly of New York and currently living in Starkville, is a veteran of stages around the country. An experienced musical theater performer and actor, he has most recently been involved with several Starkville Community Theatre productions, as well as with New Stage in Jackson.
“Tennessee Williams is such a wonderful literary genius; I love his work — and as a Southern gentleman, I can identify with the language,” said Stark. “He always writes such dynamic characters.”
Multiple events
“Suddenly, Last Summer” at Rent Auditorium in Whitfield Hall on the MUW campus Sept. 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 is one of many Tribute events. Others include scholar talks, a one-man show by Broadway actor Joel Vig, a poetry reading, luncheons, a screening of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a “Stella” Shouting Contest, the 5K Streetcar Run, a special sermon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Victorian home tours. Many are free. Tickets for others may be purchased in advance at the Rosenzweig Arts Center, 501 Main St., Tuesday through Saturday. Or look for brochures and ticket forms at local businesses.
Caradine said, “The Tennessee Williams Tribute volunteer committee could not do what it does without the support of the medias, the Columbus Arts Council, Main Street Columbus, the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau and others behind the scenes to ensure the literary legacy of Tennessee Williams in the town where he was born.”
Access the complete schedule at muw.edu/tennesseewilliams, call 662-328-5413 for more information, or email [email protected]. Follow the Tribute on Facebook and Twitter.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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