tracker
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Home For You Chat My Shows (beta) Register/Login Games Grosses
Tennessee Williams Headshot

Tennessee Williams

Birth Place: Columbus, MS, USA

Get Tennessee Williams Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

BIO

One of America's greatest playwrights and certainly the greatest ever from the South, Tennessee Williams wrote fiction and motion picture screenplays, but he is acclaimed primarily for his plays, nearly all of which are set in the South, but which at their best rise above regionalism to approach universal themes. Tennessee Williams drew heavily on his family experiences in his writings. When The Glass Menagerie hit Broadway in 1945, it not only changed Tennessee Williams' life, it revolutionized American theatre. A Streetcar Named Desire, The Night of the Iguana and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are some of his other masterpieces. Among his many awards, Williams won two Pulitzer Prizes and four New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. In addition to 25 full-length plays, Williams produced dozens of short plays and screenplays, two novels, a novella, 60 short stories, more than 100 poem and an autobiography. His works have been translated into at least 27 languages, and countless productions of his work have been staged around the world.

Photos

Awards and Nominations

Olivier Awards - 2003 - Best Revival

Tennessee WilliamsA Streetcar Named Desire

Tony Awards - 1999 - Best Play

Tennessee Williams, Not About Nightingales

Olivier Awards - 1995 - Best Revival of a Play or Comedy

Tennessee WilliamsSweet Bird Of Youth


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1962 - Best American Play

Tennessee Williams, The Night of the Iguana

Tony Awards - 1962 - Best Play

Tennessee Williams, The Night of the Iguana


winner
Evening Standard Awards - 1958 - Best Play

Tennessee WilliamsCat on a Hot Tin Roof

Tony Awards - 1956 - Best Play

Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1955 - Best American Play

Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof


winner
The Pulitzer Prize - 1955 - The Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Tennessee Williams, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof


winner
Tony Awards - 1951 - Best Play

Tennessee Williams, The Rose Tattoo


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1948 - Best American Play

Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1945 - Best American Play

Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

Videos

News


Photos: KIND STRANGER at the Zephyr Theatre
by Gillian Blum - Jan 25, 2026

Check out production photos from Ed's Filmworks' West Coast premiere of Kind Stranger ... a memory play, conceived and performed by Rick Simone-Friedland, and adapted and directed by Steven Simone-Friedland.
McCarter Theatre to Honor Former Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann at Annual Gala
by Gillian Blum - Jan 25, 2026

McCarter Theatre Center announced that former Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann will receive the inaugural Roger S. Berlind Award at its annual gala on June 12, 2026.
Photos: The Streetcar Project's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at A.C.T.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 23, 2026

You can now get a first look at brand-new production photos from The Streetcar Project's production of A Streetcar Named Desire at A.C.T.'s Toni Rembe Theater.
Skokie Theatre Will Present Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY in February
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 23, 2026

MadKap Productions will present the musical COMPANY for 13 live performances at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave in Downtown Skokie. from Feb 6 through Mar 1, 2026.
Dunaway Gardens Foundation Launches Inaugural Playwright Lab In Georgia
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 22, 2026

Dunaway Gardens in Newnan, GA, will present its first-ever Playwright Lab in 2026, aiming to support new theatrical works and emerging playwrights.
Cast Set for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at Invictus Theatre Company
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 16, 2026

Invictus Theatre Company has revealed the cast and production team for its 2026 season opener, Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama will be the company's 20th onstage production since the company's founding.
International Literary Properties Secures $100M Bank Debt Financing
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 15, 2026

International Literary Properties, the global company that invests in, acquires, manages, and enhances literary and theatrical intellectual properties, revealed the closing of a new credit facility from Fifth Third Bank.
Winners Announced For The 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards
by BWW Awards - Jan 14, 2026

Winners have been announced for the 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! The 2025 Regional Awards honor regional productions, touring shows, and more which had their first performance between October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.
Colman Domingo and More to be Honored at New York Theatre Workshop 2026 Gala
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 13, 2026

New York Theatre Workshop's 2026 Gala will honor Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo, Tony Award-winning producer Mara Isaacs, and NAACP Image Award nominee Nicole Ari Parker.
Eric Price and Phillip Christian Smith Receive 2026 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Jan 13, 2026

The Kleban Foundation has announced the recipients of the 36th annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre. The winners are Eric Price and Phillip Christian Smith. Learn more here!
Crow’s Theatre And Soulpepper Theatre Present Tennessee Williams’ SUMMER & SMOKE
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 10, 2026

Crow's Theatre and Soulpepper Theatre, in association with Birdland Theatre, will present a new Canadian production of SUMMER & SMOKE, one of Tennessee Williams’ most lyrical and searching plays.
ILP Adds James Meader and Jennifer Bassuk to Literary Division
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 7, 2026

International Literary Properties has revealed two new appointments to its senior leadership team. James Meader has been named President, Publishing of ILP Literary and Jennifer Bassuk will serve as President, Partnerships for ILP Literary.
THE GLASS MENAGERIE Comes to Theater Latté Da in February
by Stephi Wild - Jan 7, 2026

Theater Latté Da has announced complete casting and single ticket on-sale for Tennessee Williams’ American classic play The Glass Menagerie (February 4 - March 1, 2026).
Last Chance to Vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards; THE SECOND HURRICANE Leads Best Musical!
by BWW Awards - Dec 29, 2025

This is the last chance to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!
Last Chance to Vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld New Orleans Awards; ANNIE Leads Best Musical!
by BWW Awards - Dec 29, 2025

This is the last chance to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld New Orleans Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!
Last Chance to Vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Off-Broadway Awards; Leads Best Musical!
by BWW Awards - Dec 29, 2025

This is the last chance to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Off-Broadway Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!
GOING TO EXTREMES: A John Waters 80th Birthday Celebration is Coming to Adler Hall
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 23, 2025

Film director John Waters will bring Going to Extremes: A John Waters 80th Birthday Celebration to Adler Hall at New York Society for Ethical Culture.
Final Weeks to Vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards; Stray Dog Theatre Leads Favorite Theatre!
by BWW Awards - Dec 22, 2025

We're in the final weeks to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Tennessee Williams written?

Tennessee Williams has written 35 shows including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Playwright), You Touched Me (Playwright), Summer and Smoke (Playwright), Orpheus Descending (Lyricist), Garden District (Playwright), Sweet Bird of Youth (Playwright), I Rise in Flames, Cried the Phoenix (Playwright), The Purification (Playwright), Period of Adjustment (Playwright), The Night of the Iguana (Playwright), The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (Playwright), The Rose Tattoo (Playwright), The Seven Descents of Myrtle (Playwright), In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel (Playwright), Camino Real (Playwright), Out Cry (Playwright), Battle of Angels (Playwright), Serafina (Source Material), Summer and Smoke (Playwright), Vieux Carre (Playwright), Clothes for a Summer Hotel (Playwright), Ten by Tennessee (Playwright), Kingdom of Earth (Playwright), The Red Devil Battery Sign (Playwright), Not About Nightingales (Playwright), Tennessee Williams Remembered (Author), Something Cloudy, Something Clear (Playwright), Five By Tenn (Playwright), The Glass Menagerie (Playwright), A Streetcar Named Desire (Playwright), Suddenly Last Summer (Playwright), The Eccentricities Of A Nightingale (Playwright), The Two-Character Play (Playwright), 2 By Tennessee Williams (Playwright), Talisman Roses (Playwright).

What awards has Tennessee Williams been nominated for?

Tennessee Williams has been nominated for several awards throughout his career. Some of his notable nominations include Best Revival at the Olivier Awards for "A Streetcar Named Desire," Best Play at the Tony Awards for "Not About Nightingales," Best Revival of a Play or Comedy at the Olivier Awards for "Sweet Bird Of Youth," Best American Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "The Night of the Iguana," Best Play at the Tony Awards for "The Night of the Iguana," Best Play at the Evening Standard Awards for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Best Play at the Tony Awards for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Best American Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," The Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof," Best Play at the Tony Awards for "The Rose Tattoo," Best American Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "A Streetcar Named Desire," and Best American Play at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "The Glass Menagerie."

What awards has Tennessee Williams won?

Tennessee Williams has won several awards for his plays. Some of his notable wins include the Best American Play award from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "The Night of the Iguana," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "A Streetcar Named Desire," and "The Glass Menagerie." He also received the Best Play award from the Evening Standard Awards for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and the Tony Award for Best Play for "The Rose Tattoo." Additionally, Williams was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Get Tennessee Williams Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos