ORPHEUS DESCENDING to Launch Tennessee Williams Theatre Company 10th Season

The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans will kick off its tenth anniversary season with Orpheus Descending, a searing tale of passion, isolation, and rebellion set in the Mississippi Delta. The production opens March 27 at Loyola University New Orleans’ Marquette Theatre, bringing together a powerhouse cast and creative team to honor the legacy of one of America’s greatest playwrights.

From humble beginnings in a small church recreation room in 2015, TWTC has grown into a cornerstone of New Orleans’ theatre scene. Now, just one block from its first-ever performance space, the company continues to push artistic boundaries with 15 local performers alongside an equally robust creative team—considerably larger in scaled than its three-person inaugural production.

Orpheus Descending unfolds in a conservative Southern town where the arrival of an enigmatic young musician, Val Xavier (Benjamin Dougherty), ignites both longing and hostility. He catches the eye of the restless Lady Torrance (Leslie Claverie), whose life is entangled with the domineering town boss Jabe Torrance (James Howard Wright). Meanwhile, the wild and rebellious Carol Cutrere (Charlie Carr of TWTC’s A Streetcar Named Desire) warns of the town’s unforgiving nature, and the visionary Vee Talbott (Judy Lea Steele) offers Val a lifeline—but can he escape the fate that awaits all who dare to defy the town’s rigid order?

“Orpheus Descending has some of the most explosive exchanges in the Williams canon,” says director and TWTC Founding Co-Artistic Director Augustin J. Correro. “It also features some of the most staggeringly beautiful poetry and dialogue he ever set down. It’s no wonder it’s a favorite among Williams devotees. We can’t wait to bring this ambitious, tense production to life with some of New Orleans’ finest talent.”

The production’s cast also includes John Jabaley, Lizzy Bruce, Robert Alan Mitchell, Andrew Niemann, Desire Burrell, Ryan Darby, Mia Frost, Lalanya Gunn, David Sellers, and John Wettermark.

“With so much uncertainty in the world, the temptation is there to produce something light and fluffy,” notes TWTC Co-Artistic Director Nick Shackleford, who also serves as the show’s sound designer. “But we believe in theatre that challenges, provokes, and strengthens our community by testing the bounds of the human condition. We’re incredibly proud to launch our tenth season with such a daring, necessary, and uncensored production.”

TWTC’s Tenth Anniversary Season continues the company’s mission to present both celebrated and rarely produced Williams works with innovative staging and locally sourced talent. This season is made possible by a generous grant from the New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA) and produced in part by Jason and Anjali Gillette. Additional support for Orpheus Descending comes from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the New Orleans Tourism & Cultural Fund, the New Orleans Recreation and Cultural Fund, the City of New Orleans, and the Threadhead Cultural Foundation.

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