In Tennessee Williams’s The Night of the Iguana, a defrocked clergyman encounters inside disturbances amid outside disturbances during one stormy night at the Costa Verde Hotel in Acapulco as the world prepares for World War II. After four women of different ages and backgrounds, along with a 97-year-old poet, engage in the clergyman’s spiritual struggles, their lives leap dramatically forward. And the catalytic, defrocked clergyman survives the night.
The piercing poetry of Williams’ words flickers into life many times, but also feel missed and blurred. Nonno’s poem, as it is finally delivered—about an olive branch observing the sky—feels underwhelming, rather than a profound underline. Williams may have known or imagined a way to crystallize The Night of the Iguana into knowability—but this almost 3-hour production feels lost, even as its actors valiantly attempt to do the same.
Two hours and fifty minutes. That’s all I knew about this production of the Tennessee Williams classic and I was prepared for a long sit. Not that there’s anything wrong with lengthy dramas but often the old plays could benefit from some surgical trimming. Well I’m very happy to say the La Femme Theatre Productions’ revival of The Night of the Iguana is an engrossing sit, beautifully acted under the direction of Emily Mann who mined every shred of nuance and wisdom embedded in this deeply felt work.
1961 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1976 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1988 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1996 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2017 | Regional (US) |
American Repertory Theater Regional Production Regional (US) |
2019 | West End |
West End Revival West End |
2023 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Production Off-Broadway |
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