Something Cloudy, Something Clear

by Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams returns to a pivotal moment in his stormy youth in Something Cloudy, Something Clear, which introducer Eve Adamson calls "a delicately woven tapestry of past and present, vulnerability and toughness, impetuous action and mature insight." Something Cloudy, Something Clear is, as Tennessee Williams stated, "one of the most personal plays I’ve ever written." Set in Provincetown, Cape Cod, in 1940, the play records Williams’ experiences during that "pivotal summer when I took sort of a crash course in growing up." On the brink of becoming a successful playwright, Williams was also to "come thoroughly out of the closet" and meet Kip, his first great love. Something Cloudy, Something Clearbrilliantly reimagines that long ago time, now recollected through the filter of all the playwright’s successes and failures, joys and regrets. Eve Adamson, director of the original 1981 production, provides an insightful introduction in which she captures the play’s heart-breaking "It is a delicately woven tapestry of past and present, vulnerability and toughness, impetuous action and mature insight. It seeks a reconciliation between love and art, life and death, and-to use two phrases which recur in the play––exigencies of desperation and negotiation of terms. The cloudy and the clear."

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Queer, Ebooks, Queer Lit

95 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

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

[Maggie Potter]

I always feel deeply about Tennessee Williams plays. I hate that his more realistic stuff is so revered and the memory/ghost plays are looked over- they’re my favorites. They evoke such feeling. BUT- and this is a big but- this one made me uncomfy a few times, especially since it’s one of his more autobiographical works. Not into the sexual coercion. Not into the sudden use the the n-word. I don’t expect those things from Williams and they took me out of the play. Not rating this one.

[Abbie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

5-star writing and a deeply heartbreaking story set in Williams’ classic memory-play style. There were a few things that didn’t sit well with me though. Williams, perhaps unintentionally, raises the question: What is consent to someone who feels that they are out of options? The answer is not pretty.

[Martin Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, the final play written by Tennessee Williams, surprises us with its zest and passion, its autobiographical central character embracing chance and opportunity even as he recoils from living and loving. This character, August, is told early on by another:

Look! You're crawling around the frame of the picture. You've got to get off the frame, now, and into the picture.

And he does!--in startling ways that I won't reveal here. What you need to know, though, is that August--who is a younger version of Williams and also a version of the playwright at 70, looking back at his life--finds his way into life, through his art. His younger self muses about how it might have been to have died young, but his older self guides that younger man through negotiations that guarantee his survival, artistic and otherwise.

Something Cloudy, Something Clear takes place, mostly, on a deserted beach in Provincetown in September 1940. Here, the young playwright August is finishing a play that may be picked up by a prominent Broadway producing organization for a famous movie actress to star in. Here, too, August alternately despairs and revels in enforced loneliness, finding solace in sex with one-night pickups. On the night before the play begins, August encounters two young people, Clare and Kip, who are beautiful, buoyant, and fragile. August falls instantly in love with Kip, a dancer in need of a patron, and spends the bulk of the play trying to work out an accommodation that will make them both--if not happy exactly--then at least a little less sad.

[Dani Kass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this play for perfectly capturing that dreamy sense of memory and being autobiographical in such a raw way, but it was almost too much in TW's head/life. There was also a very jarring moment of racism at the end, which I'm still trying to process.

[Gloriadoerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a joy to read this book.

I admire Tennessee Williams because he know his people. Great observer, and the story flows beautifully. One of the best American writers.

[David Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist floats between the past and the present, and other memory fragments from his life are interjected. A fascinating piece.

[bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0
so this is late style (neutral) tennessee williams

    ”Clare, you have to know a person intimately, sometimes for a longtime, to know about his mind, sometimes even slightly.”

    i had been searching for something of his that was more explicitly queer and was led here. i was quite delighted on that front! so they were calling it p-town in 1940? woah!

    the way that this blends the two times as opposed to having awkward shifts reminds me of robert altman’s (magnum opus btw) come back to the 5 & dime, jimmy dean, jimmy dean. if you haven’t seen that yet, please do, it’s kinda magical. anyways, i’m not sure that i got a lot out of receiving the story that way, but it was intriguing at the very least.

[Jason Hillenburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally written in the late 40's as a one-acter entitled The Parade, Williams expanded the play near the end of his life. Williams practiced this often in his long career; short plays became "dry runs" for extended works and afforded him the opportunity to flesh out his ideas before embarking on larger projects.

Like many of his late plays, Williams freely mixes autobiography and fiction in this work. This play takes that proclivity a step further by dispensing with even the thinnest disguises. Major figures from Williams' personal life like Frank Merlo, the playwright's long time lover, and Tallulah Bankhead put in appearances.

The drama is infused with tremendous poetry and an unsurprising autumnal tone. Unlike many of Williams' late work, this play lacks the violent imagery and bizarre sideshows that disappointed or confused so many.

Highly recommended for his fans and casual readers alike.

[Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of all of Williams' plays, this one is the most autobiographical. For those interested in his personal life, this play provides insight to a lot of the issues and feelings Williams was dealing with at the time. That being said, this is far from his best, and I think even in the writing this play even Williams knew that. A lot of the play seems half-done or straight up poorly done, especially with the concept of the play taking place both in the present and in the past (which I didn't even realize initially). There's a sense of darkness and doom that surrounds this play, especially for the self-insert character August. For that, the play is an interesting look into Williams' psyche towards the end of his life, but otherwise it is sloppily done at best and egregiously bad at worst.

[Robby Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if you would call this play a memory play like Vieux Carre, but I think it must be. Tennessee attempts to write a play that takes place in the present and in the past at the same time. A valiant effort and a must read for Williams' buffs.

[Ken French · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this play at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre back in 1981 and remembered it vividly. I wanted to refresh my memory of it, since I'll be visiting P-Town and the dune shacks where this takes place next month. A very good autobiographical play.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debated between 3 and 4 stars, but I like Williams so much I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. There are some wonderful moments, but something about this is too personal for it work as a play.