Mark your calendars because starting on Friday, March 1, Key West will roll out the red carpet for a month-long birthday celebration honoring Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams.
Hosted by the Key West Art & Historical Society, the annual Tennessee Williams Festival pays homage to one of the world’s most famous literary giants with a series of art and cultural events staged at various venues around the island.
Events honoring Williams include a museum fundraiser, Plein Air painting, poetry and short story writing contests, museum tours, film showings, and a birthday party with cake and bubbly.
Born on March 26, 1911, Williams visited and lived in Key West from 1941 until 1983, when he inhaled an eyedropper bottle cap in a freak accident and choked to death. During his storied life, Williams’ award-winning classics, like “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” earned him two Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and many other literary awards. The Academy Award–winning film adaptation of his play, “The Rose Tattoo,” was filmed here in 1954.
And here’s a little tidbit you might not know: Tennessee Williams was also a prolific painter.
While his award-winning stories often explored the dynamics of the American South and his tumultuous upbringing, he turned to painting to express other private thoughts. Struggling with alcohol and drug abuse as well as depression, the tormented Williams used writing and then painting as a coping mechanism. His paintings and sketches span over 50 years, including portraits, landscapes, caricatures, compositions, a still-life, and several self-portraits.
In 2008, local resident Dennis Beaver began curating Tennessee Williams memorabilia and exhibiting a very small collection of artifacts. Over the years, his collection expanded and has evolved into the acclaimed Tennessee Williams Museum, showcasing photographs, artwork, first edition plays and books, rare newspaper and magazine articles, videos, a typewriter, and other fascinating artifacts.
You can visit Key West’s Tennessee Williams Museum every Monday through Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm at 513 Truman Avenue. For more details of the upcoming Festival events, see pages 16 & 18 or go to kwahs.org.
FESTIVAL EVENTS
March 1, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Curator Tour of the Tennessee Williams Museum: The Rose Tattoo
Tennessee Williams Museum, 513 Truman Ave.
March 2, 5 – 7 pm
Tennessee Williams Plein Air Contest and Show
Key West Lighthouse, 938 Whitehead St.
March 3, 5 – 7 pm
Tennessee Williams Rose Tattoo Garden Party & Fundraiser
Dennis Beaver and Bert Whitt’s residence, 1207 Whitehead St.
March 4, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Tennessee Williams Classic Movie Night: The Rose Tattoo
Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
March 5, 4 – 6 pm
Papa’s Pilar Cocktail Class:Â Tennessee Williams Edition
Hemingway Social Club, 201 Simonton St.
March 6, 7 – 9 pm
Tennessee Williams Outdoor Screening:Â A Streetcar Named Desire
Outdoor screening at the Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
March 11, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Tennessee Williams Classic Movie Night: Baby Doll
Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
March 14, 5 – 6 pm
Happy Hour with the Historian:Â Tennessee Williams in Key West
Comedy Club, 218 Whitehead St.
March 15, 11 am – 1 pm
A Trolley Tour Named Desire
Hop onboard at Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front St.
March 17, 8 pm
Tennessee Williams:Â Ten Blocks On The Camino Real
Staged reading at Waterfront Playhouse, 407 Wall St.
March 18, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Tennessee Williams Classic Movie Night: Period of Adjustment
Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
March 19, 10 – 11:30 am
Tennessee Williams’ Key West Walking Tour
Waterfront Playhouse, 407 Wall St in Mallory Square.
March 25, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Tennessee Williams Classic Movie Night:Â The Fugitive Kind
Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton St.
March 26, 5 – 7 pm
Tennessee Williams Birthday Party
Tennessee Williams Museum 513 Truman Ave.