Tennessee Williams Drank Here by
In the days following Hurricane Katrina, three generations of a family of white restaurateurs gather in their popular restaurant in the Deep South to ponder their reopening. A brainstorming session about repairs reveals ancient layers of racism and bias, unearthing long-buried secrets and laying bare conflicting views on heritage, community and responsibility.
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One set. Three acts. Six...
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One set. Three acts. Six...
In the days following Hurricane Katrina, three generations of a family of white restaurateurs gather in their popular restaurant in the Deep South to ponder their reopening. A brainstorming session about repairs reveals ancient layers of racism and bias, unearthing long-buried secrets and laying bare conflicting views on heritage, community and responsibility.
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One set. Three acts. Six characters. Darkly comic, ruminative, funny, heartbreaking and hopeful, the play deals specifically with white characters' narcissism and their culpability in systemic racism. Yes, it's a booze-kissed reunion that moves from morning to evening and (purposely) is one of those "long-buried-secrets-are-revealed" plays. It's an attempt at an ensemble family play that echoes the heat and chew of Tennessee Williams’ melodramas without becoming camp or Southern gothic. While the restaurant they work in reveals itself as an allegory for America, the play wants to be about finding family — and preserving family by examining it and reinventing it. Newly revised in 2023. ASK FOR A PERUSAL COPY.
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One set. Three acts. Six characters. Darkly comic, ruminative, funny, heartbreaking and hopeful, the play deals specifically with white characters' narcissism and their culpability in systemic racism. Yes, it's a booze-kissed reunion that moves from morning to evening and (purposely) is one of those "long-buried-secrets-are-revealed" plays. It's an attempt at an ensemble family play that echoes the heat and chew of Tennessee Williams’ melodramas without becoming camp or Southern gothic. While the restaurant they work in reveals itself as an allegory for America, the play wants to be about finding family — and preserving family by examining it and reinventing it. Newly revised in 2023. ASK FOR A PERUSAL COPY.