In his heyday Tennessee Williams was America’s greatest lyric playwright. Today, in a moment which feels anything but lyrical, he seems the only one still relevant. For proof? Treat yourselves to one of thirteen performances of Voice Theatre’s irresistible production of Summer and Smoke. It’s irresistible, however, not only for stand-out performances of the couple at its core, but because like a classic chess match, we find ourselves vainly replaying “crucial moves” in search of a different ending than the magnificently tortured Tennessee Williams provides.
It debuted in 1948, the year after what remains his most famous play, A Streetcar Named Desire. No surprise then that in Summer and Smoke Williams again explores that wreck-filled gulf between love and lust which separates debauchery from idealistic romanticism. This time the duelists are Alma Winemiller, the brilliantly damaged daughter of a Southern preacher, and her life-long neighbor, John Buchanan, a fatally handsome, drunken, and gifted doctor’s son with whom she has been in love since childhood.
Yet unlike the shocker denouement of Streetcar, the push and pull between man and woman in Summer and Smoke veers away from what Brando so brutally brought to Broadway. Though passion will eventually (and this time most tenderly) sputter into flame, what now dominates the stage is instead?… something we all are dealing with on a daily basis. But rather than originating from Canadian wildfires, the summer smoke of Williams’ play becomes the unpredictable—if infinitely dependable—eloquence for which he is deservedly famous. It flows primarily from Tennessee’s female characters. And Alma—played as if it was the first time ever by Jessica Crandell—is a star example as when she defends her own chastity.
“There are some women who turn a possibly beautiful thing into something no better than the coupling of beasts—but love is what you bring to it.” To this the half-drunk John admits: “You’re right about that.” Unsatisfied, Alma pushes on: “Some people bring just their bodies. But there are some people, there are some women, John—who can bring their hearts to it, also—who can bring their souls to it!”
Tennessee Williams’s men, including John Buchanan—if they find it at all—usually discover the poetry lurking within them haltingly. Often they are inspired towards such discovery by a poetess like Alma (whose name means “soul,” in Spanish). Exactly this twist is most compellingly demonstrated by Jeffrey Ronan who, under Shauna Kanter’s incisive direction, awakens to his own lyricism late in the play. This transformation, however, is primarily caused by a highly dramatic event driving the action to a starkly cut and dry conclusion. It, perhaps, inspired Williams to continue tinkering with John and Alma for years, until, late in his career, Williams’ Eccentricities of a Nightingale, attempted too much and ended up delivering less than the original.
Summer and Smoke is the simpler, bolder version, with true heart and soul committed by all concerned in Voice Theatre’s memorable production. Don’t miss its run July 13-30 at Bethany Hall (in Kingston’s Old Dutch Church). Performances are held Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm, with 2pm matinees on Sundays (as well as Sat. July 29). For tickets and information, visit voicetheatre.org/tickets.
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