Photo Flash: Palm Beach Dramaworks Presents The World Premiere of Terry Teachout's BILLY AND ME

Billy and Me , a new play by Terry Teachout , author of the acclaimed Satchmo at the Waldorf , will receive its world premiere on December 8 at Palm Beach Dramaworks. "A work of fiction freely based on fact," the play speculates on the tempestuous friendship between playwrights Tennessee Williams and William Inge . PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes , who suggested the idea to Teachout, directs the premiere, which runs through December 31, with specially priced previews on December 6 and 7.

Billy and Me is a memory play narrated by Williams. Act I is set at a bar in Chicago on December 31, 1944, immediately after a pre-Broadway tryout of Williams' The Glass Menagerie - the play that inspired Inge to become a playwright. Act II takes place almost 15 years later in Inge's Manhattan apartment, a few hours after the Broadway premiere of his first flop, A Loss of Roses .

"It's a play about love, jealousy, and - not to put it too pompously - destiny," said Teachout. "An artist is a person who can't do anything else with his life. Writing is his fate: it's that or nothing. But he can't become an artist until he accepts that fate and acknowledges his true nature. That's a big part of what this play is about: the struggle of two great American Playwrights to come to terms with who they really were."

Billy and Me stars Nicholas Richberg as Williams and Tom Wahlas Inge. Rounding out the cast is Cliff Burgess , who plays a stage manager, a waiter, and a doctor. Scenic design is by Victor Becker , costume design is by Brian O'Keefe , lighting design is by Paul Black , and sound design is by David Thomas .

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a non-profit, professional theatre and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the South Florida Theatre League, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Evening performances of Billy and Me are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30PM, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, and select Sundays at 7PM. Matinee performances are on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2PM. Post-performance discussions follow Wednesday matinee and Sunday evening performances. Individual tickets are $75, with specially priced preview tickets at $55 and Opening Night tickets at $90. Student tickets are available for $15, and Pay Your Age tickets are available for those 18-40. Tickets for educators are half price with proper ID (other restrictions apply). Group rates for 20 or more and discounted season subscriptions are also available.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visitwww.palmbeachdramaworks.org .

Photos by Alicia Donelan