Key West to Celebrate Tennessee Williams' Stage, Film, Artistic Legacies

The Key West Art & Historical Society is holding the annual Tennessee Williams Birthday Celebration throughout March, commemorating the award-winning playwright of "The Glass Menagerie," "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Tennessee Williams lived in Key West for over three decades, starting in 1949.

The festivities will begin with a fundraising garden party hosted by Dennis Beaver and Bert Whitt at their Key West home, as well as with exclusive tours of the Tennessee Williams Museum in the Truman Avenue. The museum exhibits include personal photographs, rare memorabilia, and a scale model of Williams' home.

The celebration also includes film screenings of three Williams films at Key West's Tropic Cinema, such as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," and "This Property is Condemned" on successive Mondays. Performances of Williams' "Suddenly, Last Summer" will be staged at the Waterfront Playhouse, while Fringe Theater is to present readings of some of his most sensual writings at The Armory.

Other events are to include a lecture on the playwright’s life in Key West, poetry and short story competitions, a painting "boot camp," and a guided walking tour of Key West sites associated with him. The celebration will conclude with a "birthday party" at the Tennessee Williams Museum on the 112th anniversary of Williams' birth.

For more information and ticketing, visit the Key West Art & Historical Society's website: kwahs.org/education/adult-programs/twbc