Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – La Femme Theatre gives Tennessee Williams’ flawed but fascinating THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA a starry, pungent revival

• By drediman
• December 18, 2023
• No Comments

Last night, La Femme Theatre Productions’ starry Off-Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana opened at the Pershing Square Signature Theater. Written in 1961, the play is considered one of Williams’ last notable attempts for the stage. Set in 1940 in a run-down hotel on the western coast of Mexico, the play tells the story of one T. Lawrence Shannon, a defrocked preacher who finds himself on the verge of a nervous breakdown – struggling to keep his wits together as he gives tours of religious sites south of the border.

There’s a reason why Tennessee Williams’ flawed but fascinating The Night of the Iguana is rarely performed. Beyond the play’s sprawling, nearly three hour running time, its characters are a motley crew (including a pair of German Nazi vacationers) who almost seem melodramatically over-the-top if it weren’t for the voluptuously theatrical language Williams gives them. Thankfully, director Emily Mann’s solid staging brings much of the charged, pungent poetry of the language to vivid life, although I wish the production’s scenic design were a little more evocative of the play’s exotic setting (the serviceable set design is by the usually inspired Beowulf Boritt).

The cast is led by Tim Daly in the central role of Shannon. Charismatic yet emotionally stunted, Daly brings an appealingly approachable everyman quality to his performance. As the two women competing for his attention, Daphne Rubin-Vega (earthy, contemporary) and Jean Lchty (measured, logical) give starkly contrasting performances that nearly seem too much at odds with each other to be in the same play. The deluxe cast is rounded by the great Austin Pendleton and the irrepressible Lea DeLaria, both of whom give idiosyncratic performances that bring texture to the production.

RECOMMENDED

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA
Off-Broadway, Play
La Femme Theatre Productions at Pershing Square Signature Center
2 hours, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Through February 25