Event

Small Craft Warnings

Small Craft Warnings is Tennessee Williams' gem of a play from the early 1970s. Set in a small bar near a lonely stretch of beach in Southern California, somewhere south of Orange County and north of San Diego, the play exposes the hopes, desperation and dreams of a group of obscure outcasts grasping at a sense of community in a world that has rejected them. This motley crew of lost souls gathers at Monk's place for an evening solace and shelter. Each one has a story to tell: The abortion doctor, the gay screen writer with a young pick up, the angry, sex-addicted beautician mourning the anniversary of the death of her gay brother, her live-in boyfriend, the drunken, weepy waif, the dissolute short order cook and the affable bartender. Although despised by society, Williams, ever the compassionate playwright, finds each one worthy of some degree of grace and redemption. Whether any of them ever find either, is another question. In his review of the 1972 production for the New York Times, critic Clive Barnes wrote, "This is not a major Tennessee Williams play, but it will certainly do until the next one comes along, and I suspect it may survive better than some of the much touted products of his salad years." The legendary playwright stepped in to play a role in the original Broadway production.