The Gentleman Caller

We are first introduced to Tennessee Williams.

He tells the audience who he is and his whereabouts as William Inge prepares drinks in the background. Inge is an unknown journalist preparing to interview Williams in his home in St. Louis.

The opening monologue has some good lines. Juan Francisco Villa delivers them with comedic timing. The Gentleman Caller by Philip Dawkins and produced by the Abingdon Theatre Company is currently running at the Cherry Lane Theatre.  The play takes place as Williams's new play "The Gentleman Caller" (now known as "The Glass Menagerie") is set to open in Chicago.

Williams breaks the fourth wall as he narrates the events of the evening, the evening the play opens and the events that occur after William Inge is discovered. Inge and Williams were both gay men and they did know each other, but as far as I know the events involving the two of them are a work of fiction.

There is not much action in this play, but there is a lot of talk. Inge (Daniel K. Isaac) spends most of the play refusing Williams's advances while also struggling with his wanting to proceed. There many innuendos to keep the audience entertained.

The play is off balanced in terms of the characters. Williams definitely dominates the play with Inge interjecting some lines of dialogue every now and then. Inge does have a final monologue, but it seemed written more for shock value than anything else.

Directed by Tony Speciale, the play was dominated by a strong performance that overpowered the weaker one. The set designed by Sara C. Walsh was gorgeous. Lamps were stacked upon manuscripts towering over the actors. It was beautiful to look at.

Good overpowers the not so good, and in the end deserves an audience.