Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan: A Collaboration in the Theatre [Hardcover]

Brenda Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0521400953 | ISBN-13: 978-0521400954

This is a book-length study of the collaboration between Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan. Their intense creative relationship, fuelled by a deep personal affinity that endured until Williams's death, lasted from 1947 until 1960. The production of A Streetcar Named Desire established Williams as America's greatest playwright and Kazan as its most important director; together they created some of the most influential theatrical events of the post-war era. In this book Brenda Murphy analyses this artistic partnership and the plays and theatrical techniques the artists developed collaboratively in their productions of A Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Sweet Bird of Youth. In addition, Murphy suggests alternative ways to examine the working relationship between playwright and director which can be applied to other practitioners in twentieth-century drama. The book contains numerous illustrations from important productions.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

By dissecting four collaborations between playwright Williams and director Kazan, Murphy defines the unique symbiosis that produced the Fifties' finest drama. Rather than Williams being "weak" and Kazan a bully, as critics charge, she shows that Williams deliberately sought the director's input in the earliest stages of a script and that much of what seems uniquely Williams stems from Kazan's inspirations. Using archives and reminiscences (although not Kazan's still-sealed papers), Murphy traces A Streetcar Named Desire and three other plays from earliest seeds ( Streetcar set in Chicago!) to first performance. Highly recommended for literature and theater collections.
- Shelley Cox, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

This is a book-length study of the collaboration between Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan, an intense creative relationship that lasted from 1947 to 1960 and embraced among others, the production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 28, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521400953
• ISBN-13: 978-0521400954
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,687,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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