Costly Performances: Tennessee Williams : The Last Stage

Rating:
Summary: This is a valuable theatrical memoir
Review: I am a young actor living in London where the plays of Tennesssee Williams are experiencing a great deal of interest within the entire theatre community: schools and universities; theatre companies; theatre media. All fans of his work are turning to background material on Williams and one of the most discussed -- and admired -- is Costly Performances/Tennessee Williams: The Last Stage by Bruce Smith. Mr Smith has, since writing this memoir, become actively involved in London's theatre world, saying he learned "at the master's hand" many enduring and valuable lessons re dramaturgy, play production and, more importantly, playwriting. His play 'Papal Gore' is scheduled for a West End staging. As well, his book about Mr. Williams is now being made into a major motion picture here in England. Real theatre people understand the sensitivity Mr. Smith brought to his portrayal of Mr Williams in his last, very difficult years and value it as a real contribution to 20th Century theatre history. It is highly literate but -- above all -- a very good read. This book, with Lyle Leverich's
The Unknown Tennessee Williams and the gossipy The Kindness of Strangers by Donald Spoto provide an indepth look at the author's life and times.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Account of Tennessee Williams' Last Years
Review: If you want to get the feel of the end years of Tennessee Williams' life...be sure to read Bruce Smith's "Costly Performances". I know because I was Tennessee's personal assistant for about six months ending right after the main stage opening of "A House Not Meant to Stand". Some of Bruce's "facts" are clearly incorrect. He has Tennessee and I meeting in Vancouver (I am referred to as "Saskatch".) and later travelling to Sicily. Neither of us was in either place while I was in Tennessee's employ. There are other errors too but they are minor compared to the importance of the dynamics of Tennessee and the other people in his life at that time...and Bruce captures this quite well.

As Bruce points out, Tennessee was largely abandoned in his last years by the mainstream and in their place came a cast of characters all seeking to gain something from him...money, drugs, fame...but the biggest was to be seen as his savior, either professional or personal. This drama plays out in Bruce's book and to a certain extent continues to play out AS Bruce's book. Bruce accurately skewers such characters as Gary Tucker and Schuyler Wyatt, and in great detail, but also minimizes the "good guys" such as Vasilis Voglis (referred to simply as "Voglis".) and Kate Schweppe, AKA Texas Kate.

Thus, in his book, Bruce is left alone on the stage, all others having been dismissed. But as even Bruce points out, Tennessee was always pitting people against each other, encouraging their rivalry and watching as the drama played out. He encouraged both sides of this drama, both constructive and destructive. This was his life and as he grew weaker from age and from the toll of the way he lived, he maintained this ongoing drama even at the expense of his commercial life. This is what we see unfolding in Bruce's book. If you want to know what those days were like...you will find it here.