Tennessee Williams' Literary Agent Lived Near Norwalk

Like one of Tennessee Williams' oft quoted lines about relying on the kindness of strangers, the playwright himself was indebted to Westport resident Audrey Wood, a well-regarded theatrical agent who first brought his work to the industry's attention. 

This Friday night the Westport Country Playhouse and the Westport Historical Society will celebrate Wood's significant connection to one of America's most celebrated playwrights by hosting a community reception before the Playhouse's fourth production of the season, Williams' haunting drama Suddenly Last Summer. 

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with wine and light appetizers in the Playhouse's Smilow Lounge where a poster researched and designed by Michaela MacColl, a volunteer for the Westport Historical Society, will be on display.

"Their relationship was quite famous," said MacColl.

Growing up around theater, Wood started out reading scripts for a New York literary agency. When she turned her sights to working as a talent agent, she professionally –and personally—joined forces with her husband William Liebling in 1937 and married him in 1938.

In 1939 she 'discovered' Tennessee Williams and took him under her wing. In fact, she was largely responsible for his receiving a prestigious award from the Rockefeller Foundation for his play,  Battle of Angels. 

Lawrence Langner, founder of the Playhouse, had encouraged Williams by inviting him to Connecticut to work on this play. Though Battle of Angels bombed in its Boston production and never made it to Broadway, Williams later rewrote the play and renamed it. The newer incarnation, called Orpheus Descending, was decidedly more successful.

MacColl said, “If Audrey championed a writer, people listened. This is what she did for Tennessee Williams at the start of his career. She let him know that she saw great things in him. His early success is clearly because of her.”

MacColl said that although Williams was always 'pleading poverty' and telling Wood that he was “on his last dollar,” the truth is that he came from a middle class family whom he could turn to for financial support if he ever became truly destitute. “He liked to play the poor playwright,” MacColl noted.

In reading letters between Wood and Williams, MacColl said that their affection and respect for each other is evident, even when the playwright's well-known drug and alcohol addiction was full blown. “He knew he was hurting people, including Audrey, but he couldn't stop,” MacColl continued.

“As he spirals into drinking, he becomes more vicious and mean. He imagines that all of these slights are being made against him. I recall how she said, in one letter, 'I don't even know what he's talking about.'”

Since Williams frequently inserted his own feelings, background and experiences into his plays, it's no coincidence that there is a line in Suddenly Last Summer about the difficulty for a poet in separating his work and his life. Mrs. Violet Venable says about her late son, a poet, “His life was his work because the work of a poet is the life of a poet and, vice versa, the life of a poet is the work of poet.” 

Wood seemed to innately understand—and nurture—his strengths and somehow mollify his weaknesses. Their professional relationship ended in the late 1960's and she continued to represent playwrights, actors and directors.

Tickets for Friday's pre-show reception and performance is $35. Reservations could be made by calling Alayna George at 203-227-5137, ext. 116 or by emailing events@westportplayhouse.org.

Editor's note: This article originally was published by Westport Patch.