Review: SUMMER AND SMOKE at The Filigree Theatre

Tennessee Williams never writes women who break quietly. His heroines unravel, yes, but their undoing is always a rebirth, a baptism in fire and feeling. In Filigree Theatre’s Summer and Smoke, directed with extraordinary clarity and sensitivity by Elizabeth V. Newman, that truth radiates through every scene. This production captures both the ache and the ecstasy of yearning, the pull between the body and the soul, and the endless dance between desire and restraint that defines Tennessee Williams’ world.

Set in the sweltering Mississippi town of Glorious Hill, the story follows Alma Winemiller (Kate Glasheen), a preacher’s daughter whose fragile grace masks an undercurrent of passion she can no longer contain. Her lifelong fascination and heartbreak is John Buchanan Jr. (Brennan Patrick), the doctor’s son who embodies everything Alma is taught to resist. He’s a man of flesh; she’s a woman of spirit. Their tragedy lies in never quite meeting in the middle.

Newman’s direction is the backbone of this success. She directs like a composer, allowing silence to hum with meaning and emotion to build in waves. The pacing is deft, slow where it must linger, sharp when truth strikes. What could have easily turned into melodrama instead becomes tender, lucid, and painfully human. Newman’s trust in her actors and in Williams’ poetry pays off; every beat feels earned.

The set design by Patrick Anthony is a study in elegant restraint. A few well-placed elements, most notably the beautifully suspended hanging windows, turn the stage into a breathing metaphor for transparency, fragility, and boundaries both visible and imagined. His design makes smart use of the new venue at The Linc Theatre, transforming the compact space into a full emotional landscape. The windows frame the world of Glorious Hill as if we’re peering into the inner chambers of Alma’s heart.

Anthony also handled lighting design, which is exquisite. His lighting choices bathe the stage in a timeless glow, softening edges and heightening intimacy. He crafts a palette that feels almost nostalgic, evoking both the oppressive Southern heat and the cool distance of dreams deferred.

Kate Glasheen’s performance as Alma Winemiller is captivating. Her accent, precise yet gentle, grounds the character in her Southern upbringing without ever tipping into caricature. Glasheen embodies Alma’s repressed longing and moral ferocity with quiet power, making her heartbreak deeply affecting.

Opposite her, Brennan Patrick as John Buchanan Jr. is all charm and contradiction. He exudes confidence tinged with danger, the sort of man women fall for and regret later. Patrick captures the essential tragedy of John: too alive to commit, too curious to surrender. His lack of accent works well, separating him subtly from the genteel constraints of the town. Together, he and Glasheen generate electric, maddening, and heartbreaking chemistry.

Among the supporting cast, Meredith O’Brien as Mrs. Winemiller delivers one of the evening’s most delightful turns. Her portrayal of Alma’s eccentric, spacey mother is witty and mischievous, with flashes of startling lucidity. She is both comic relief and mirror, showing what happens when passion untethered from restraint takes flight. Shannon Grounds as the ever-nosey Mrs. Bassett injects humor and texture into the town’s gossipy pulse. Both actors flesh out Williams’ world of manners and secrets with skill and verve.

The ensemble surrounding Alma and John adds rich cultural layers, particularly Mr. Gonzales (Michael C. Costilla), the Hispanic cockfighting bar owner, and his daughter Rosa (Idelisse Collazo). They stand as sharp counterpoints to Glorious Hill’s suffocating propriety, representing the sensual, untamed world that both tempts and terrifies Alma. This grounds the story in its period while giving it broader, timeless cultural resonance.

Jennifer Rose Davis’ costumes are stunning. Each piece seems to have absorbed the Southern heat, the lace and linen breathing with the era’s sensibilities. Davis captures the contrast between purity and passion, with Alma’s pale dresses fading gracefully as her inner life burns brighter.

Summer and Smoke is, at its core, about the tension between the body and the soul, about learning to live with both. In The Filigree Theatre’s hands, it becomes a study in courage: the courage to feel, to want, to lose. This production is a testament to how minimalist design and emotionally intelligent direction can ignite Tennessee Williams’ lyrical torment into something immediate and alive.

By the end, as the final light fades through those suspended windows, you can almost feel the Mississippi air thick with longing. This Summer and Smoke doesn’t just revisit Williams’ world; it revives it.

Duration: 2 hours + intermission

Summer and Smoke

Book by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Elizabeth V. Newman

Now Playing Through October 12th, 2025

Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM

Sundays at 3:00 PM

The Filigree Theatre

@ The Linc Theatre

6406 North Interstate Highway 35 2150

Austin, TX 78752