This is one Tennessee Williams woman you won't soon forget. Marisa Tomei plays Serafina, a widow who rekindles her desire for love, lust and life in the arms of a fiery suitor. Sharply directed by Cullman, Williams' lesser-known gem sizzles with humor and heart in sultry New Orleans. Serafina erupts from the depths of despair to the heights of passion in this Tony Award-winning Best Play.
Making his Broadway debut as Alvaro, Scottish actor Emun Elliott (The Paradise, Game of Thrones) matches Tomei with a similarly energetic performance. Though he doesn't appear until the play's second act, he and Tomei have a natural chemistry that helps bridge the question of why Serafina would be so attracted to a man of Alvaro's somewhat questionable character. While they make an appealing pair, sometimes their mutual mugging goes a little overboard and distracts from the sense of romance that should be building between the two.
But with Tomei, the Williams heartbreak is elusive. She looks the neighborhood scourge in costume designer Clint Ramos's slips and robes and Tom Watson's wigs, but the debilitating weight of her loss and the fear that it won't be regained is not in her eyes or in the effortful way she carries herself. Tomei is effective as far as she goes, and it's likely she has it in her to go much farther. But she hasn't been guided that way.
| 1951 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1966 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1995 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 2019 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theater Company Broadway Revival Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Marisa Tomei |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Rose Tattoo |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Clint Ramos |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score | Fitz Patton |
Videos