I had the chance to see the first Theatrical Production of this play, done at a local theater here in Northern California. It was wonderful, and the book is the same. I especially liked the aunt!

This play was originally a failure when it was produced on Broadway. It was not until the 1952 Circle in the Square production directed by Jose Quintero and starring Geraldine Page (who also played the part to perfection in the 1962 film version) that the show became a success. The original production must have been poorly done, because the play is a masterpiece even when one simply reads it. An allegory that takes place in Mississippi during the first decades of this century, the story concerns Alma Winemiller, a proper but slightly affected minister's daughter, and John Buchanan, a young doctor with a penchant for the fast lane. Over the course of the play, the two come to understand each other with more clarity and compassion, until they are each transformed. The character of Alma is said to have been Williams' own favorite. This is Williams on a par with "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." -- NOTE: This is the acting edition of the play and differs slightly from the reading edition, which includes a deleted prologue showing John and Alma as children.

Don't see the movie instead of reading the play, in fact, don't see the movie at all, because it is TERRIBLE. It changes the ending completely, and lacks the overall spirit of the play. With "Sweet Bird of Youth," Williams has created something touching and brilliant. If you like Williams' other plays, you will like this, but if not, you won't. A wonderful dramatic landmark. Amazing.

This is one of the most informative books I've ever read. Harold Bloom takes you through, close to every piece of literature ever written by Williams, and tears it apart piece by piece, allowing the reader to get to the essence of the writing, and also get some insight from another person. I think it to be very refreshing to find such a tacctful book on literary criticism. It's a fabulous book that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat!

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams is one of the best plays that I have read in years. First adapted to film in 1951, by Oscar Saul. I must recommend this play to all theatre directors out there and say that this would be a very large hit.

Once again, I say that A Streetcar named desire is one of the best plays I have read.

A more suitable compilation than this will not be found. These three plays are arguably the essential core of the Williams canon, and certainly a great starting place for novices.

Sweey Bird of Youth is blessed with perhaps the finest epitaph ever in a modern drama, when the play's main character emanates Williams's legendary compassion with the concluding line, "all I ask is for the recognition of me in you, and time, the enemy, in us all." Shakespeare would have salivated.

Both the Rose Tattoo and Night of the Iguana exhibit Ibsen's impression upon Williams, as Williams incorporates brilliant metaphor's that wrap around both plays like knotted ribbons, but Williams's poetic language in each surpasses that of Ibsen by eons. Much in the vein of Ibsen's The Wild Duck or Chekov's The Seagull, Williams gives us a lesson in fate, freedom and human desire with his Iguana, tied to a post by a rope and struggling to escape, waiting to be killed as food, and he walks us through a world of intense nostalgia and heartbreak with the Rose Tattoo marking the chests of Serafina's lovers.

Even O'Neil, lauded by most as our finest American playwright, never quite matched the powerful language of the heart that saturates these three works of gritty, raw desire and nostalgia. Both of which, as Williams insists, take up plenty of space in the hearts of all.

This collection contains 13 short works by Williams. This work draws me to it because of the poetic style that Williams uses. Not only the dialogue, but the moods and situations are both poetic--both subtle and dynamic at the same time. These short plays may not be crafted as well as such masterworks as -Streetcar- and -Menagerie-, but Tennessee was definitely on to something when he wrote them. They are strange, but Williams doesn't seem to be contriving strange things for the sake of being strange or making spectacle. The power in these works reminds me of the power of the contemporary poet Louise Gluck; I can't really understand why Louise's poetry or Tennessee's short works are so strong because they seem so simple and sparce. I am an aspiring writer and director--for someone heading in either of those directions, this book is a must read. It will make you think. You must be prepared to not really understand the works, but that hazy quality makes them all the more wonderful. It's as if Williams knows the language of feelings and doesn't employ the language of the mind with which we're so familiar.

A definitive interpretation of the major plays that covers the characters, structure, and language of the plays, this work is especially impressive for its insights into Williams' poetic language. It explains clearly the imagery of the language, its rhythms and diction, as well as the visual dramatic effects that made Williams an innovator in his day. If you like the plays, buy the book! You'll love it.

*Vieux Carre* is probably the finest play of Williams' "Late" period--and it's terrific, though unfairly neglected. It's much more like the earlier work in terms of a "straight" narrative, and as good as it is I think we'll be seeing many more productions of it in the future.

This is a valuable book for anyone interested in Williams and his most popular play. Kolin covers a great deal of fascinating productions and the role that the world's major directors have played in them--Kazan, Olivier, Ingrid Bergman, Cocteau, and Visconti. Drawing on reviews, interviews, and some very hard to find archival materials, Kolin takes us behind the scenes as we learn about how actors played Stanley and Blanche over the last fifty years. There are fascinating chapters, too, on the film and teleplay versions of Streetcar as well as the ballet and gay adaptations of Streetcar. Everything you ever wanted to know about Streetcar is here. Meticulously documented and artfully written--the photos are incredible.