1950s Marriages Sweet and Sour: Tennessee Williams and William Inge

Abstract

Three playwrights dominated the American theater in the 1950s. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge (one-act version, 1956) have attained classic status with frequent revivals. Tennessee Williams’s output was greater but more variable: The Rose Tattoo (1951), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1956), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1959) achieved solid runs of over three hundred performances and received a number of awards. All three were turned into successful Hollywood films. Camino Real (1953) and Orpheus Descending (1957) were not as successful, though the latter was the basis for the film The Fugitive Kind (1959) and was more appreciated through a number of successful revivals and a second, more faithful television version in 1990. The plays of Miller and Williams that were written in this period have stood the test of time. The same cannot be said for William Inge, though he had four solid Broadway hits during the decade, all of which were turned into Hollywood films.

Two people living together, two, two—different worlds!—attempting— existence—together!

Tennessee Williams, Period of Adjustment