Keith Gaskin has long admired the works of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams, born in Columbus. He’s also a lifelong fan of Tupelo’s Elvis Presley. So when time came for organizers to plan Columbus’ 16th annual Tennessee Williams Tribute, Gaskin thought, “Why not?” That’s how “the Elvis Factor” came to figure in Tribute events set for Sept. 7-10.
“It just fascinated me that these two giants in American culture were born in towns that are just an hour apart in distance,” said Gaskin, Tribute chair.
TWT, as it is often referred to, features Elvis talk and much more. Porch Plays are new in 2017, as is Southern Settings and Eccentric Characters at the home of George and Marion Hazard. Favorites return, like the Moon Lake Gala, Hollyhocks “Stella” Shouting Contest, breakfasts, a scholars’ luncheon at the home of John and Eulalie Davis, acting workshops with David Roby and a film screening. A unique Sunday morning sermon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Williams’ grandfather served as rector, is offered again, and carriage rides and a double-decker bus tour through historic streets surrounding Williams’ first home will punctuate Tribute weekend. Many events are free. It’s all designed to be entertaining and insightful, to explore a native son who went on to be known as one of America’s greatest playwrights.
“Orpheus” and Elvis
Connecting Williams and Presley isn’t far-fetched. When Williams rewrote his 1939-40 “Battle of Angels” in 1956, it became”Orpheus Descending.” In the revision, the primary character of Val was transformed into a guitar-carrying drifter who melts women’s hearts. Many have speculated the playwright had in mind Elvis, who was having a breakout year in ’56. But was there really a professional Williams-Presley link? Evidence in Williams’ own words surfaced years later.
Critic Sheila O’Malley in 2014 (sheilaomalley.com) shared a quote from interviews Williams gave James Grissom in 1982: “Elvis was the ideal Val, and we were optimistic up to a point that he might make his first appearance on the stage, and then we hoped he would appear in a film. That was a madly delirious episode … ”
In the end, Elvis never made that leap. Cliff Robertson played Val when “Orpheus” opened on Broadway in 1957. Marlon Brando portrayed him in the 1960 movie, retitled “The Fugitive Kind.” (TWT will screen it Sept. 9.)
Tribute audiences will meet David Trotter as Val Sept. 8-10 when “Orpheus Descending” is presented at Mississippi University for Women’s Cromwell Theatre, directed by David Roby of Birmingham, Alabama. Williams once described it as “the tale of a wild-spirited boy who wanders into a conventional community of the South and creates the commotion of a fox in a chicken coop.” It’s about passion, fallen heroes and troubled souls.
“He’s an outsider with a checkered past he’s trying to get away from,” said Trotter. “But he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time it seems like, that’s just his life.” Portraying the conflicted character is challenging, but “I like these types of roles; I think this sort of fits me,” Trotter said. The most daunting part, he admitted, is learning to play enough guitar for the part — and sing.
Cherri Golden plays the central character of Lady in the play intended for mature audiences. An Italian immigrant trapped in her marriage, Lady is drawn to the magnetic transient who turns up in town.
Laura Beth Berry, who plays Carole Cutrere, said, “Like so many Tennessee Williams plays, this one is touching, but there’s humor. You laugh, you cry, and you walk away moved. … He has a way of expressing the fullness of the human condition that is unparalleled. He worked on this play over 20 years. It has been written and rewritten, so every single word has so much meaning.”
“Goodbye, Mama”
The Elvis factor surfaces, too, in the Tribute’s opening night Sept. 7. Along with music, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, the Moon Lake Gala at the Rosenzweig Arts Center features an original play by Evan Mann and Daniel Martine of Memphis, Tennessee. The world premiere of “Goodbye, Mama” imagines a fictional meeting between Williams and his mother, Edwina, and Elvis, just after his mother, Gladys, has passed away.
Gaskin said, “When I sat down and began to talk to them about writing this short play for the Tribute, they began to really explore similarities between Elvis’ relationship with his mother and Tennessee Williams’ relationships with his, and struggles the two men had with fame and success, and all that goes with that.”
Much more
Tribute highlights are many. “We’re really excited to add our new Porch Plays and Southern Settings and Eccentric Characters,” said board member Marthalie Porter. Author Michael Farris Smith will talk about Southern Gothic literature at Southern Settings Sept. 9. Area high school students present Porch Plays earlier that same day.
A catered luncheon with classical music Sept. 8 will honor Williams scholar and MUW assistant professor emeritus Steve Pieschel for his study of the life of Williams’ mother, Edwina.
Free acting workshops with Roby are Sept. 8-9. “I encourage anybody, even if they’ve never acted before or if they’re a seasoned professional, to join us,” said Roby, adding that participants will deliver monologues the second day and can invite guests.
“The Backstory Breakfast” and “Tom’s Columbus” are complimentary breakfasts Sept. 8 and 9 that delve into “Orpheus Descending” and the Elvis connection, as well as local color. TWT Cinema screens “The Fugitive Kind” Sept. 9 at the Rosenzweig Arts Center. The “Stella” Shouting Contest on Sept. 8 brings a street party to downtown Columbus in front of Hollyhocks. Contestants line up to scream “Stella” (a la Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire”) to judges on the gift shop’s balcony.
Porter said, “We have lots of events that are free. You can also purchase an all-access Desire Pass for $100. Or if you don’t have time to do all of the events, you can pick and choose what you want.”
The Tribute, founded by Brenda Caradine of Columbus, and supported by donors and sponsors including Visit Columbus, is an important addition to Columbus’ cultural offerings, organizers said.
“I actually hope I’ll be involved in the Tribute for a decade because I love the work of Tennessee Williams, and I like working with this committee,” said Roby. “I believe in the Tennessee Williams Tribute and everything that Brenda Caradine started.”
For a schedule of events or to purchase tickets, visit tennesseewilliamstribute.org. Tickets are also available at the Columbus Arts Council’s Rosenzweig Arts Center at 501 Main St. For more information, call 662-368-8591.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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