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A review by jayalex_8
The Rose Tattoo: Camino Real ; Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The Rose Tattoo is clearly the standout of this collection of three of Williams’ works, and earns its place as the titular play of the three. Although I didn’t particularly enjoy Serafina, reading her as a manipulative, chaotic and somewhat narcissistic woman, I enjoyed Williams’ motifs and found them to be sufficiently consistent enough to bring to life the home of a once-devout Catholic Sicilian immigrant to the US. I particularly enjoyed the daughter’s ‘Juliet’ debacle!
The Camino Real is really not suited to paper consumption in my opinion, though I imagine the brisk pace and cacophonous atmosphere indicated through Williams’ stage directions play out well in a theatre. I am slightly concerned for the safety of the actor bestowed the role of Kilroy though, who is instructed to leap from a theatre Box and onto the stage!
Orpheus Descending - with its minimal success at the time - does not hold up. In my limited experience of Williams’ works, it reads as a pale first draft, and I found myself unable to stop comparing Lady back to Blanche Dubois, a much more detailed female lead in my memory. I found it hard to believe that Lady could not have discovered the truth of her father’s burning for two decades while living in a gossip-ridden small Southern US town… considering Williams’ own essay, which is included in this edition, in which he states that he had chipped away at some form of Orpheus for near 17 years, I felt severely underwhelmed!
The Camino Real is really not suited to paper consumption in my opinion, though I imagine the brisk pace and cacophonous atmosphere indicated through Williams’ stage directions play out well in a theatre. I am slightly concerned for the safety of the actor bestowed the role of Kilroy though, who is instructed to leap from a theatre Box and onto the stage!
Orpheus Descending - with its minimal success at the time - does not hold up. In my limited experience of Williams’ works, it reads as a pale first draft, and I found myself unable to stop comparing Lady back to Blanche Dubois, a much more detailed female lead in my memory. I found it hard to believe that Lady could not have discovered the truth of her father’s burning for two decades while living in a gossip-ridden small Southern US town… considering Williams’ own essay, which is included in this edition, in which he states that he had chipped away at some form of Orpheus for near 17 years, I felt severely underwhelmed!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs