This yearly festival of events often includes a museum fundraiser, Plein air painting, poetry, and short story writing contests, lectures, museum tours, film showings, live theater events and a birthday party complete with cake and bubbly to honor the life and accomplishments of Williams, whose rise to stardom began with The Glass Menagerie and continued with A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and other dramatic masterpieces.

The Tropic is again proud to celebrate legendary author, playwright, and Key West icon Tennessee Williams!

Baby Doll

March 11

The Southern Gothic potboiler “Baby Doll” centers on Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden), a failing cotton gin owner who is married to Baby Doll (Carroll Baker), a 19-year old childlike beauty whose father arranged the marriage for financial reasons. As Archie awaits the arrival of Baby Doll’s 20th birthday, the day that they are supposed to consummate their marriage, he faces interference from business rival Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach), who plots to seduce Baby Doll away from Meighan.

Period of Adjustment

March 18

in this rare comedy from Williams, veteran George Haverstick (Jim Hutton) meets nurse Isabel (Jane Fonda) while in hospital and soon marries her. However, Isabel is disappointed to learn that George drives a hearse and has booked them a dingy motel for their honeymoon, during which he falls asleep drunk. The next day, the couple visits George’s friend Ralph (Tony Franciosa), who originally married Dorothea (Lois Nettleton) for money but now loves her. Dorothea wants to leave Ralph, and the Haversticks try to help him.

The Fugitive Kind

March 25

When guitar-playing drifter Valentine “Snakeskin” Xavier (Marlon Brando) arrives in a southern town, he catches the eye of the married Lady Torrance (Anna Magnani) and the oversexed alcoholic, Carol Cutrere (Joanne Woodward). Both vie for his attention, and Snakeskin decides to change his drifting “party boy” life—but an undercurrent of violence, past and present, dominate the town and threatens to pull him back in.