The Theatre of Tennessee Williams, Volume 4: Sweet Bird of Youth / Period of Adjustment / The Night of the Iguana

by Tennessee Williams

The Theatre of Tennessee Williams  brings together in matching format the plays of one of America’s most persistently influential and innovative dramatists. Arranged in chronological order, this ongoing series includes the original cast listings and production notes for all full-length plays. Now available as a New Directions Paperbook,  Volume IV  contains a wonderfully diverse collection of Williams’s works.  Sweet Bird of Youth  (1959) is a dramatic study of a fading Hollywood actress, who tries to recapture her youth through a young drifter half her age. In a lighter mood,  Period of Adjustment  (1960) tells of the marital troubles of two “Middle American couples, a departure for the playwright who himself labeled it a ’serious comedy.’”  The Night of the Iguana  (1961), in sharp contrast, tells of human frailty and redemptive strength on the West Coast of Mexico.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Classics, American, Theatre, 20th Century

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Thomas Lanier Williams III, better known by the nickname Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright of the twentieth century who received many of the top theatrical awards for his work. He moved to New Orleans in 1939 and changed his name to "Tennessee," the state of his father's birth.

Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after years of obscurity, at age 33 he became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. This play closely reflected his own unhappy family background. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, he attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of the finest American plays of the 20th century, alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

Much of Williams' most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Bird of Youth and The Night of the Iguana are quintessential Williams; Period of Adjustment, something of an attempt at a Comedy, is a real slog. Williams can be quite funny at times, but as The Rose Tattoo and now this long work confirm, writing actual works of comedy didn't really turn out well for him (or audiences!). Still, two out of three isn't bad, especially when the two are as powerful and poetic as anything in Williams' oeuvre.

[Margarida Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sou fã de Tennessee Williams. Decidi ler este livro tanto por causa do meu gosto por Teatro como pelo autor, e conta com 4 peças de teatro diferentes: "O Zoo de Vidro", "Doce Pássaro da Juventude", "A Noite da Iguana" e "Vieux Carré".
Desde logo, adorei, sem qualquer esforço, "O Zoo de Vidro". Diria que foi a peça que mais gostei do autor - gostei especialmente da personagem de Tom Wingfield. Podia ser eu. Podia. Li muitas análises desta peça e podia escrever todo um texto a analisar todos os seus simbolismos. Adoraria fazê-lo, mas o post ficaria demasiado grande e confuso. Precisava de ter toda uma secção só para esta peça...
Não liguei muito a "Doce Pássaro da Juventude" - estava bem conseguida, e gostei da temática do ator falhado ou a cair no esquecimento, mas não me lembro de ter tido grandes sentimentos durante a leitura.
Apesar de a experiência de leitura destas duas primeiras peças ter sido boa, demorei algum tempo a acabar este livro e o processo de leitura não foi de todo linear: comecei em junho, ia continuando, mas em julho parei. E estive parada meses até pensar que não queria deixar um livro de Tennessee Williams na pilha de livros a continuar (que é um eufemismo para desistência). Então, agora em outubro, decidi pôr fim a essa inércia e continuei até ao fim... e realmente foi a escolha certa.
A razão pela qual não continuei a leitura de forma contínua foi o facto de ter chegado a meio de "A Noite da Iguana" e não ter sabido lidar com o diálogo das personagens, loucas e absorvidas em si mesmas. Não gostei de Shannon nem de Maxine. Não gostei do facto de a ação ser parada. No entanto, quando retomei a leitura após ter dedicado tempo a outros livros, verifiquei que o melhor da peça vem no fim: vem com a presença da própria Iguana, capturada contra a sua vontade e atada ao alpendre com uma corda, a tentar em vão escapar. Com a presença da Iguana, Shannon, o reverendo ateu e moralmente questionável, tem um momento de bondade: "como Deus não pode fazer pelos homens o que é necessário, têm de ser os homens a agir como se fossem Deus" - por isso, solta a Iguana, que logo desaparece. Quando entendi o simbolismo da Iguana, passei a adorar a peça e vi o quão brilhante era o seu autor... A peça provocou sentimentos fortes, começou com repúdio pelas personagens e acabou com luz - a isso se chama evolução. Pensei em como todos nós, e não só aquelas personagens, nos encontramos todos presos contra a nossa vontade, e como imaginar a libertação é possível.
A seguir a "A Noite da Iguana", li "Vieux Carré" e senti que estava a ver um filme. Adorei mesmo, muito mais do que pensaria adorar, já que não é dos trabalhos mais conhecidos do autor. Adorei a decadência retratada na pensão barata e adorei a força de Jane. Adorei a personagem do Escritor, em luta contra si mesmo. Adorei.
E sobretudo pensei que nunca me esquecerei da Iguana... a melhor personagem de todas, que me ensinou a dar segundas oportunidades.

[Joost Poort · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have called this collection 'The Night of the Iguana and Other Plays', because I thought it was (by far) the best play of the three.
For me, none of them came anywhere near the brilliance of 'Streetcar', though.

[João Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 peças: o Zoo de Vidro, Doce Pássaro da Juventude, A Noite da Iguana e Vieux Carré. Todas excelentes.

[Zara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the foreword, Williams quotes an un-mailed letter he'd written: "We are all civilised people, which means that we are all savages at heart but observing a few amenities of civilised behaviour." and as a first time reader of his work, this foreword helped me really understand what I was getting into. I was surprised to find Sweet Bird of Youth to be my least favourite. Period of Adjustment was good, but I would've had no idea it was supposed to be a comedy if not for the foreword. Night of the Iguana stood out to me like a dream. A vivid setting and peculiar characters, but dissolves in and out of lucidity.

[Bailee Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three plays in this collection are Sweet Bird of Youth, Period of Adjustment, and Night of the Iguana. Each I would rate between a 3/5 and 3.5/5, or at least somewhere in the 3s. They all were a good mix of things I liked along side things I wasn't into. Maybe this is partially because it was the last one I read, but I think Period of Adjustment is my favorite of the three.

[Achilleas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe "The night of the iguana" was too long. Maybe the "Period of adjustment" was not too intense. But "Sweet bird of youth" was exquisite. The notes and director guidelines of Williams must have helped many directors' careers beyond their merit.

"-When will I see you?
-I don't know - maybe never.
-Never is a long time, Chance, I'll wait."

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Night of the Iguana

[Tatenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an absolute slog to get through--glad I'm getting through Williams' works, but none of these plays compare to Streetcar or Summer and Smoke.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Bird of Youth - 3/5
Period of Adjustment - 4/5
The Night of the Iguana - 5/5

Overall rating: 4/5

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

why was sweet bird do youth lowkey the worst play in this

[Harold Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great author.

[Greta Eilsberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. und 3. Play sind meine Favoriten

[t · Rating 5 out of 5]

such classic williams, except his attempt at the comedic genre. despite the pervading loneliness in his works, it always feels comforting to read him

[Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I either see or read a play but won't do both. I watched Sweet Bird of Youth last month, so it is fresh in mind but not enough to distort the reading of it. Like any decent drama the work deserves a second look and I wasn't surprised to find it easier to piece it all together and develop a stronger understanding.

I can't make heads or tails of why I've read A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and now this because I don't exactly enjoy them! They're packed with suppression and anger. I guess it is his brilliant observations of illusion: 'How very sweet of you, Sally. I don't even care if you're not altogether sincere in that statement, Sally.' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is next then...

[Tom Musbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read "Period of Adjustment": I had never heard of this play before, billed as a "serious comedy." First staged in 1960, it deals in familiar Williams territory: sex, marriage, masculinity. While it moves quickly during a tumultuous Christmas Eve, the play feels dated--especially with its treatment of women. (7.5)

[j_ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Bird of Youth ****o
Period of Adjustment ***oo
The Night of the Iguana ****o

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading these three brilliant plays full of pathos and the human condition at its worst and finest.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars