French Quarter
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

Coming of Age from Page to Stage:

Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival

Celebrates 21st Anniversary, March 28-April 1, 2007

NEW ORLEANS - Prize-winning authors, thespians and myriad other creative souls will unite this spring in celebration of the 21st annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, March 28-April 1, 2007. The lofty list of participants includes Pulitzer Prize winners Richard Ford and Yusef Komunyakaa; best-selling authors Douglas Brinkley, Barry Gifford, Haven Kimmel, Michael Lewis, Sharyn McCrumb, Tom Sancton, Margaret Sartor and Calvin Trillin; and filmmaker/artist John Waters, who wrote the introduction to a new edition of Tennessee Williams' Memoirs, published by New Directions.

The five-day fête, which celebrates the life and cultural legacy of the eponymous playwright in his adopted city that he called his "spiritual home," offers two days of master classes; a roster of panel discussions and celebrity interviews; theater, food and music events; a scholars' conference; literary and other French Quarter walking tours; and a book fair. Bookending the event are an opening night fundraising gala and the closing ceremony -- a Stanley and Stella Shouting Contest, in playful homage to the bellowing mates in Williams' masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire.

In addition to panels dedicated to the Festival's namesake, discussions will cover a variety of themes, such as how writers find words to describe assorted intangibles, from the mystique of Appalachia to the special brand of New Orleans noir. Others focus on memoir-writing and how Southern literature is viewed through a transcontinental lens.

Post-Hurricane Katrina, the state of Louisiana continues to remain a subject of interest and concern. Scheduled panels will address a range of topics, including coastal erosion, regional distinctions, and how New Orleans continues to be a hub for writers and other creative spirits.

Theater highlights include a trio of Williams' lesser-known one-acts: The Travelling Companion, The Chalky White Substance and Lifeboat Drill, featuring, among others, New York actor Jeremy Lawrence, who will also present a follow-up to his one-man show, Talking Tennessee, which thrilled Festival audiences the past few years.

The marquee also includes a staged reading of Rancho Pancho, a new play by San Antonio playwright Gregg Barrios, recounting Tennessee's life with Pancho Rodriguez, his "live-in muse" during the 1940s, and who, Barrios believes, served as a model for Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Acclaimed actress Grace Zabriskie [Big Love, Inland Empire, Twin Peaks] will channel Norma Wallace, New Orleans' legendary bordello queen, in readings from the hit play, The Last Madam, which was adapted from Christine Wiltz's best-selling memoir by the same title.

On another stage, local star Ryan Reinike will portray William Faulkner in the one-man show, MIRRORS OF CHARTRES STREET: Faulkner in New Orleans/New Orleans in Faulkner, adapted for the stage by Rob Florence from various vignettes and character sketches by the literary genius and then-future Nobel Laureate.

Back by popular demand, Ignatius on Stage features John McConnell and a cast of colorful characters in a staged reading of scenes from John Kennedy Toole's New Orleans classic, A Confederacy of Dunces.

Rounding out the theater roster is a premiere performance of Small Things by Cary Pepper, the winner of the Festival's 2006 One-Act Play Competition, preceded by a staged reading of this year's winning entry.

On the film front, the Festival is presenting Tennessee Williams: Theater in Process, a documentary narrated by Williams, which traces the development of his play The Red Devil Battery Sign from its incipient stages to its first performances at Boston's Schubert Theater in 1975.

New Orleans Jazz in the 50s and 60s is the theme of the annual "Drummer and Smoke" music event and features an interview with Tom Sancton, noted journalist [Time] and author of Song For My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White, in which he recounts his early life among the legendary jazzmen of his home town. The Clive Wilson Jazz Band will provide music from the era.

Food lovers will be hungry to attend the Festival's culinary offerings: Award-winning chef John Besh (Restaurant August, Besh Steakhouse) will speak about preserving and reinventing the best of Louisiana's culinary resources, as well as conduct a cooking demo and provide samples of his signature dishes; celebrated chef Leah Chase (Dooky Chase Restaurant) will join other local chefs in some sweet talk about regional confections and offer samples from a new cookbook New Orleans Classic Desserts; and food/wine connoisseur John Mariani (Dictionary of American Food and Drink) returns with his Fireside Chat at the Windsor Court, always a sold-out event.

Most of the events take place in New Orleans' historic French Quarter. Sites hosting events include Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, The Historic New Orleans Collection, the Cabildo, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, Muriel's Jackson Square, the Palm Court Jazz Café, Windsor Court Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, and Besh Steakhouse.

A Festival Panel Pass is $60 ($50 for students); a One-Day Pass is $25; theater/special events range from $10-$50; master classes are $25; walking tours are $20. Group rates on request.

For more information, contact the Festival office at 504.581.1144 or visit the website at www.tennesseewilliams.net for regular updates and information on how to become a "Friend of Tennessee." To help support the Festival and the New Orleans literary arts community through Katrina Arts Relief and Emergency Support (K.A.R.E.S.), visit www.neworleansliteraryinstitute.com.

Major funding for the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is made possible through a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Festival is also supported by grant funds from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. The Festival also receives a Community Arts Grant made possible through funding from the City of New Orleans and is administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans. Funding has also been provided by The Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation, Adelaide Benjamin, The Booth-Bricker Fund, The Fertel Foundation, Fidelity Homestead, Harrah's New Orleans, the Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation, Michael and Jesse Ledet, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Whitney National Bank, Southeastern Louisiana University, Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Xavier University, and the Zemurray Foundation. Additional support comes from The Historic New Orleans Collection; Brennan's Restaurant; The Besh Steakhouse at Harrah's; Glazer's Distributors; Muriel's Jackson Square; The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans; Windsor Court Hotel; and Pelican Publishing Company.


Media Contact:

Ellen Johnson

Tel: 504.283.3227

Fax: 504.283.6922

[email protected]

www.tennesseewilliams.net

Official Website: http://www.tennesseewilliams.net

Added by sambotrobot on March 14, 2007