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www.tennesseewilliams.net

Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival
Attracts a Spectrum of Luminaries to 22nd Annual Celebration, March 26-30, 2008

NEW ORLEANS (Feb. 2008) - The spirit of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams comes alive in late March when noted authors, thespians and other luminaries join forces at the 22nd annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, March 26-30, 2008. The illustrious list of participants includes two Tony Award winners - playwright Terrence McNally and director Gregory Mosher; veteran actors Marian Seldes and Wright King; Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tift Merritt; film critic and ranconteur Rex Reed; actor and Festival favorite Stephanie Zimbalist; best-selling authors Claire Cook (Life’s a Beach, Must Love Dogs), Valerie Martin (Italian Fever, Mary Reilly), Lee Smith (The Last Girls, On Agate Hill), Al Young (Ask Me How, Seduction by Light), and Betsy Carter (Nothing to Fall Back On), to name a few.

The five-day fête, which celebrates the life and legacy of Tennessee Williams in the adopted city 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; a one-act play competition; a breakfast book club; literary and other French Quarter walking tours; a book fair; and an opening night fundraising gala.

Theater highlights include the Los Angeles production, Bent to the Flame - A Night with Tennessee Williams, directed by Michael Michetti and starring Doug Tompos in a provocative solo performance about which Theatremania wrote, “Tompos comes so close to Williams’ essence that is nothing short of astounding.” Also channeling the playwright, this time in his later years, is celebrated New York actor Jeremy Lawrence who will reprise his one-man show, Everyone Expects Me to Write Another Streetcar: Another Evening With the Playwright, which played to enthusiastic audiences at last year’s Festival.

Innovative theater troupe, Brooklyn on Foot, brings street performance to the stage in an electrifying new version of Williams’ Camino Real. And John McConnell in a pitch-perfect portrayal of Ignatius Reily, the hapless hero in John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, returns in a staged reading of scenes from the classic novel.

The public is invited to get into the act with the Festival’s inaugural Tennessee’s Got Talent competition, with celebrity judges voting on contestants’ interpretations of dramatic scenes from Williams’ work. Those interested in kicking it up a few decibels won’t want to miss the Festival’s riotous closing ceremony - a Stanley and Stella Shouting Contest, in playful homage to the bellowing mates in Williams' masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire.

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With an eye on this election year, there will be panels devoted to political topics. Other topics range from profiles of the late Southern author and photographer, Eudora Welty, and best-selling novelist Thomas Pynchon to conversations about the unique palette of Southern culture - from humor to food. Another panel entitled “Gate of the Topics” focuses on New Orleans as a Carribean city.

Master classes on finding keys to good writing (Rosemary Daniell), the memoir as literary non-fiction (Tom Sancton), what attracts the editor’s eye (Daniel Menaker), finding an agent (Lisa Bankoff), getting your book noticed (Claire Cook), the art of songwriting (Tift Merritt) - among others - are also on tap.

A day of music offers some notes on songwriting and a songwriter-in-the-round performance; a discussion and performance of American Roots music by Spencer Bohren; and a pas de deux on clarinet by masters Tom Sancton and Michael White.

A trio of culinary offerings includes talk and tastes of New Orleans classic seafood; James Beard Award winner John Besh’s take on growing and eating local; and food/wine connoisseur John Mariani’s annual Fireside Chat, 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, Bourbon Orleans Hotel, Muriel's Jackson Square, Palm Court Jazz Café, Ritz-Carlton, Windsor Court Hotel and Besh Steakhouse.

A Festival Panel Pass is $60 ($50 for students); a One-Day Pass is $25; a One-Panel admission is $10 at the door; 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.”

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.

In addition, the program is supported in part by a Community Arts Grant made possible by the City of New Orleans as administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans. Southeastern Louisiana University at Hammond is also a major supporter and will use part of the Festival in its curriculum. The University of New Orleans administers the Festival's one-act play competition and provides a graduate assistant for the program. Significant support is also provided by The Historic New Orleans Collection and Harrah’s New Orleans.

IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.