All his characters are felt for. No one is a heavy. He doesn't tend to clean things up, clear them up, straighten them out, over-simplify, or the rest of that kind of dramatic claptrap.
- Elia Kazan on Tennessee Williams
Blanche DuBois, Amanda Wingfield, Big Daddy, Stanley Kowalsky…Tennessee Williams' timeless creations are as vital to an understanding of humanity today as they were at their premieres, 75 years ago. What kind of mind, of soul bled into the creation of these magnificent, complex, indelible wonders of the stage?
The new musical Tenn explores what drove and guided shy, diffident Thomas Lanier Williams, turning him into Tennessee Williams — genius, addict, icon and iconoclast. Great art sometimes comes from a dark place, but can that darkness eventually destroy the artist?
Hear the Music
Demo Cast and Credits
The Creative Team
Music Producer/Director - Frank Galgano
Musical Direction - Matt Castle
Arrangements and Orchestration - Frank Galgano & Matt Castle
Recording, Edited, and Mixing - Frank Galgano
Book and Lyrics - Harriet McFaul Pilger
Music and Lyrics - Karl Pilger
Additional Book and Lyrics - Shelley Herman Gillon
The Cast
Tennessee Williams - Joshua Morgan
Eunice - Vivienne Cleary
Frank Merlo/Man 1/ - Frank Galgano
Denizen/Man 2/Cabana Boys - Matt Castle
Barker - Dwayne Clark
Waiter - Daniel Belnavis
Alouette - Leah Horowitz
Charlene - Lynette Sheard
The Band
Piano - Matt Castle
Bass - Zachary Merkovsky
Drums - Michael Blancaflor*
Guitar/Banjo - Andrew Zinsmeister*
Trumpet - Michael Golub*
Trombone - Christopher Rinaman*
Woodwinds - Giuseppe Fusco
Violin - Gayla Morgan
Cello - Matthew Kolodzieski
*remote recording
About the Authors
HARRIET MCFAUL PILGER (book and lyrics) is a novelist and actor. A 2-year graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, where she studied directly under Sanford Meisner, Bill Esper and Fred Kareman, Harriet has starred in Washington DC area productions (and plays a kick-ass Eleanor of Aquitaine) and is the author of three published novels of historical fiction. She is a recovering attorney who used to put bad guys in jail. Harriet is a native New Orleanian who arrived in the Washington area to go to school and forgot to go home. She is a member of the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild.
KARL PILGER (music) is a musician and composer. As a trumpeter and percussionist, he has performed in a wide range of musical genres, including classical, big band, musical theatre, rock & roll, jazz and blues. During the last ten years, Karl has composed and arranged a number of musical works for small bands and vocal groups. He enjoys using virtual recording studios to create larger orchestral pieces, like those in Tenn, that would not be practical to record in the analog world. He is a member of ASCAP.