In recent years, organizers have had a particular play in mind to headline the annual Tennessee Williams Tribute.
Each year, for some reason or another, it just hasn’t worked out. That’s changing for this year’s tribute.
Local performances of the playwright’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” are set for 7 p.m. Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 and 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Columbus Middle School. The play is just one piece of a planned three days of festivities dedicated to Columbus’ famous native son.
“We wanted to do (it) the last two years and couldn’t,” said Jerry Fortenberry, president for the Tennessee Williams Tribute and Tour of Victorian Homes board of directors. “We really wanted to do it the year before that, but it was just too much and we couldn’t get together a play of that caliber.”
The play follows the tumultuous Pollit family on the 65th birthday of the patriarch, Big Daddy.
Starkville resident M.J. Etua is directing the performance.
“I’ve directed for TWT before and I had such a great time,” Etua said. “I’ve also been in one of the plays, so I know the people and I know the style and of course I love Tennessee Williams.”
In fact, she loved the writer so much, it was a factor in drawing her to the area.
“When I started reading Tennessee Williams years ago, I had not been to Mississippi yet,” Etua said. “But then when I finally got to come to Columbus and really get the feel of the town, I thought, ‘Oh yes, OK.’ I love its southern charm.”
The play is special to her for a different reason though. She said it feels like it was made for Columbus, or at least Mississippi, and she wants to showcase that.
“The thing that I enjoy most about directing this play especially, is you can hear the southern voices because I know people just like that in real life,” she said. “It’s exciting to see Tennessee Williams done by Mississippians. I hope the audience can feel that they’re just watching their neighbors. All of those characters, those are people that you can identify with.”
It takes a talented cast to help that vision be fulfilled, though, and Etua is confident that she has just that.
“I’m really enjoying this experience as I always do working with the people in Columbus. I love them,” she said. “The actors are wonderful. This year we have children and they have been wonderful. They’re all doing a great job.”
The play marks the return to in-person performances by the group since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that was also a factor in finally bringing it to life. Fortenberry said they wanted to make this show a special one.
The organization tried its hand at virtual events during its two-year hiatus, but nothing really seemed to work.
“We did one strictly virtual one year during that,” Fortenberry said. “I thought it was pretty good, but it’s just hard to do that when a lot of our patrons are elderly and they don’t really get into that kind of stuff. They just want to come to an event.”
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the organization’s website, at the Columbus Arts Council on Main Street or by calling 662-855-1005.
Williams was born in Columbus in 1911 before moving to Clarksdale, where he grew up.
His birthplace serves as a museum as well as a welcome center for the city, though it does not sit in its original place. In 1993, when the yellow home was threatened to be torn down, it was loaded on flatbed trucks and moved to where it presently sits on Main Street.
The Tennessee Williams Tribute was founded in 2001 by Brenda Caradine.
Other events
As part of the tribute, the “10-4 Tenn” playwriting contest will be held in the upstairs Cromwell Theater at 3 p.m. Sept. 9. The W’s Creative Writing Masters of Fine Arts Program and Theater Department will showcase the three winners of the national contest. The three, 10-minute plays will be performed and the authors will be awarded their first, second and third place prizes.
The fan-favorite Stella Shouting Contest, inspired by the Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” will be held in front of Hollyhocks Gift Shop following the MUW performances. People will take turns shouting to the titular Stella atop the balcony, employing various theatrics such as ripping shirts, and the best one will win a prize. Signup for the event starts at 5:30 p.m.
There will also be a poetry reading at 2 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Rosenzweig Arts Center featuring published poets who Williams has inspired. The poets will share some of their original works and read their favorite Tennessee Williams poems.
All three of these events are free to attend.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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