Tennessee Williams, T-shirt Modernism and the Refashionings of Theater

S. E. Gontarski is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio State University. He is a writer, director and filmmaker who specializes in twentieth-century Irish studies, in British, U.S., and European Modernism, performance theory, history of text technologies and modern(ist) book history.

• List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Saint Tennessee: An Introduction; 1. T-shirt Modernism and Performed Masculinities: The Theatrical Refashionings of Tennessee Williams and William Inge; 2. “Intense Honesty”: Race, Sex and Cross-Cultural Perspectives; 3. Becoming Samuel Beckett: Tennessee Williams and Theatrical Change on the Post–World War II World Stage; 4. Reframing Tennessee: A Short Afterword; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

“Gontarski's new book about Tennessee Williams brings us to the sultry Southern stages where T-shirts were not just props randomly taken from wardrobes but new signs of an evocative dramatic language. As his themes became less relevant for modern generations, the playwright's signature appeal changed from erotic ambiguity to stylistic sophistication. And a question arises: is Williams' theatre better suited for American or for European directors? Gontarski looks for answers, his investigations ranging from the heyday of the playwright's global fame to less-studied productions of his work in the 21st century.” — Alessandro Clericuzio, Associate Professor, University of Perugia