Come celebrate our 40th Anniversary!
As a kickoff event and free gift to the community, the Festival will host Williams Under the Oaks, with scenes from his plays along with new original pieces inspired by Williams. The event is in partnership with The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans and will feature New Orleans actors and performers. This Festival kickoff is slated for March 21 at 2 PM on the grounds of the New Orleans Jazz Museum and culminates in the popular Stella Shouting Contest at 3:30 pm.
Submit your Stella Shouting Contest audition video NOW so you can secure your spot in the lineup! Email to info@tennesseewilliams.net or DM us at our FB or IG @twfestnola.
Over 100 speakers include Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler, acclaimed playwright Martin Sherman, National Book Award winner Justin Torres, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham, bestselling authors Miles Harvey, Rodger Kamenetz, Thomas Mallon, and Maurice Carlos Ruffin, multi-award winners Addie Citchens, Maureen Corrigan, Margot Douaihy, Ladee Hubbard, Skye Jackson, Mona Lisa Saloy, Marguerite Sheffer, and many more. New Orleans writers make up over half of the speakers for this year. The full speaker list is HERE.
DON'T MISS THESE BIG 40th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS!
Wednesday, March 25
7:30 PM – 8:45 PM—Theatre
KIND STRANGER…A MEMORY PLAY—OPENING NIGHT
This critically-acclaimed one-man show explores the life of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and is adapted directly from his autobiography. Kind Stranger explores Tennessee Williams’ life, his loves, and his art, portraying the troubled but deeply human soul behind some of America’s greatest plays. Rick Simone-Friedland stars as Tennessee Williams with wit and unflinching honesty as he writes his last chapter, revealing how his plays were his life and his life was his plays. Using only his words, Kind Stranger could be called the last Tennessee Williams play.
Conceived and Performed by Rick Simone-Friedland. Adapted and Directed by Steven Simone-Friedland.
Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St Peter Street, General Admission - $35; VIP Seating - $50 or VIP Pass. Add-ons: Pre-show dinner at Tableau - $95; After-party at Tableau - $30.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL THROUGH MIDNIGHT SUNDAY—GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Friday, March 27
6:30 PM Arrival; 7 PM Performances Begin
We Have Not Long To Love: A Celebration of Tennessee Williams
This marquee benefit performance showcases multiple works by Tennessee Williams in an immersive theatrical experience at the Historic BK House and Gardens. Rob Ashford, acclaimed director and choreographer, and winner of Tony, Olivier, Emmy, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, conceived the event and will direct. The evening begins with cocktails in the sumptuous garden and a brief introduction to the house. In intimate rooms of the historic home, small groups will experience scenes from Sweet Bird of Youth, Orpheus Descending, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Rather than sitting and watching distantly from seats, this immersive theater experience places the audience inside the world of the play. As the audience is guided in small groups through the rooms of the house, the boundaries between stage, actors, and audience disappear. Following a short intermission during which hors d’oeuvres and a signature cocktail will be served, guests will enter the courtyard for Suddenly Last Summer, bringing the evening to a powerful close.
The performances feature Michael Cerveris, two-time Tony award winner, Fun Home and Assassins; Christine Ebersole, two-time Tony award winner, Grey Gardens and 42nd Street; Ansel Elgort, The Fault in our Stars, Baby Driver, West Side Story; Froy Gutierrez, Cruel Summer, Here’s to Us; Jennifer Nettles, Grammy award winning singer and actress; Tony award winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Frasier, and Desperate Housewives); Micaela Diamond (The Cher Show, Parade); and Leslie Castay, The Big Short. Come see the stars in this dazzling yet intimate one-night-only event in one of the French Quarter’s most beautiful historic homes.
Historic BK House and Gardens, 1113 Chartres Street, $150 early bird price ends 11:59 pm CST Sunday, March 15. Full price thereafter $200.
Saturday, March 28
6:30 PM—Special Event
Doors and cash bar at 6 PM
The Last Bohemian Soiree: An Evening with Billy Eichner
Our Last Bohemia Soiree is in the opulent Queen Anne Ballroom at our host hotel. Arrive at 6 PM for drinks and mingling. At 6:30 PM, enjoy some of New Orleans live local music. Then prepare for An Evening with Billy Eichner! The actor-comedian-writer-producer will share excerpts from his upcoming audio memoir, Billy on Billy. CBS news correspondent and Broadway playwright Jamie Wax joins the conversation to discuss the voice behind the viral sensation, Billy on the Street, including Billy’s unlikely path to stardom, the artists that inspired him, and the forces that shaped him along the way.
This year’s Soirée is a partner event with the Blue Roses Project, a New Orleans nonprofit dedicated to providing queer artists a platform to develop new plays.
Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom, $50 for reserved seats; $40 or VIP Pass for general admission; $20 student or industry professional.
Get your LitPass for the 2026 Festival NOW!
Gain access to entertaining and enlightening panels and conversations for readers and writers by authors, scholars, historians, publishers, and other literary and theater professionals. Topics include contemporary issues, historical interests, genre-based discussions, Southern and New Orleans-based topics, as well as panels on the life, work, and study of Tennessee Williams.
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Thanks to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and travel writer Kristin Braswell for including TWFest and SASFest in this list of renowned literary festivals! We're so excited to be named alongside some top-tier literary festivals from around the globe.
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