The Altarena Playhouse artistic director and play director Katina Psihos Letheule is to be lauded for bringing Tennessee Williams’ lesser known one-act play, Suddenly, Last Summer, written in 1957, to the High Street stage. Set in New Orleans in 1937, the story is about the mysterious life and complex death of Sebastian Venable, poet and son to Violet Venable, the matriarch whose essence is best described by her last name. The mystery and complexity of the play come from the time and setting, as well as the nature of Sebastian, one of the great examples of absent presence in all of dramatic literature. He’s a poet, he is gay, and no one really wants to hear how he died, as told by cousin Catharine who has been placed in an insane asylum after witnessing the ordeal.
Being an Altarena production, the set is stunning, thanks to Elinoar Almagor’s scenic painting and Psihos Letheule’s design. The costumes are striking courtesy of Ava Byrd. And the acting and directing are notably impressive. The supporting actors all deliver strong performances—Thomas Hutchinson as Doctor Cukrowicz, Jasmine Guerrero as Miss Foxhill, Jeffrie Givens as Sister Felicity, Danail Georgiev as George Holly, and Lori Mrochinski as Mrs. Holly. But this play, with its lyrical lines and direct staging, thrives because of the two lead actors.
Billie J. Simmons plays Violet with a southern lullaby voice and waving hanky, but when she talks about her son, she takes Williams’ words and makes music, the blues really, conveying the love and protection she carried for her closeted child. Equally effective is Sarah Zehner, who plays Catharine Holly with the fragility of someone who’s been traumatized by what happened to Sebastian and by the hospital whose techniques for treating mental illness are barbaric. Each actor has an incredible spotlight moment when they stand before the audience and with minimal movement, mostly gestures, convey the tremendous pain and emotion that have left their characters overwrought.
This is a tricky play in that Williams takes two themes—homosexuality and mental illness—and wraps them in rosy language, subtle metaphor, innuendo, and allusion. But what happened to Sebastian and Catherine was brutal in 1957, and what their contemporary counterparts experience may have gotten somewhat better, but is still harsh in 2025. Suddenly, Last Summer therefore has an historical value to it, and speaks to us now, though in a way that is muted. This is not Girl, Interrupted or Brokeback Mountain, but it is Tennessee Williams, who in incredible play after play told stories of deeply troubled characters who bravely struggled, much like the playwright himself.
Suddenly, Last Summer runs through June 29 at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High Street, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m, Sundays at 2 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Altarena Playhouse website.
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players, a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane.
