Playing for Keeps

While playwright Tennessee Williams is the patron saint of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, other writers get their due as this event showcases works by them and Williams. Held March 28 to April 1, seminars, workshops, theatrical offerings, film, food and cocktails—remember, Williams is the patron saint—crowd the days and nights. So it was very apropo that one of the parties was held at the residence where Tennessee Williams lived during his New Orleans sojourn. The festivities followed the opening night gala, at which partygoers saw three one-act plays by Williams. But the festival did have a serious side, with a number of seminars about the condition of Louisiana post-Katrina and Rita, including issues such as coastal erosion, regional differences and how New Orleans remains a muse for writers. Of course, this five-day fête needs a whimsical way to top it off—and the world-famous “Stella and Stanley Shouting Contest” did just that. How can even the most serious of scribes not like local scenester Margarita Bergen shouting “Stanley” while ad libbing in Spanish?

Jeremy Lawrence, David Kaplan and Ben Griessmeyer