St. Louis, Tennessee Williams’ ‘Static City,’ celebrates his legacy for 8th year

Celebrated American playwright Tennessee Williams moved to St. Louis as a child. He attended local high schools—Soldan and University City—and it was his experience as a laborer in St. Louis that inspired the settings of his first written works.

Although Williams later described the city with unconcealed disdain, it retains an undeniable role in his life and work. This week, for the eighth year running, St. Louis will celebrate his legacy through the Tennessee Williams Festival.

“There is the story that Williams really didn't like St. Louis. And I think part of that is true,” said Tom Mitchell, resident scholar for the Tennessee Williams Festival. “It was a dirty, smoky city that was unlike the small town in Mississippi where he'd come from. But I think even more, it was the family tension that made him carry really bad memories of St. Louis.”

Williams’ family inspired the characters and conflicts in his many legendary plays, including “Suddenly, Last Summer.” Its plot draws, in part, on Williams’ experience of witnessing his sister being placed in a mental institution, where she later underwent a lobotomy.

This year, the festival is staging performances of “Suddenly Last Summer” through Sept. 17. On Saturday, Mitchell is hosting a panel on the role of mental health in the play — what Williams wrote of as “madness.”