Before the Legend: Tennessee Rising Comes to Key West for Two Nights Only

Actor and playwright Jacob Storms portrays a young Tennessee Williams in Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams, coming to Williams Hall for two performances on March 13 and 14 as part of the annual Tennessee Williams Key West Festival. Tickets are available at kwahs.org/whats-on. (Photo Credit: Ellen McDermott)

acob Storms in character as Tennessee Williams during a performance of Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams, an intimate solo play exploring the playwright’s formative years from 1939 to 1945. The production will be staged at Williams Hall on March 13 and 14. Tickets are available at kwahs.org/whats-on. (Photo Credit: Ellen McDermott)

March 3, 2026 – (KEY WEST, FL).  What happened before the fame?  Before The Glass Menagerie.  Before A Streetcar Named Desire.  Before the world knew the name Tennessee Williams.  For two nights only – Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, 2026 – audiences at Williams Hall will step inside the restless, romantic, and razor-sharp mind of the young writer in Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams, an internationally acclaimed solo performance written and performed by Jacob Storms and originally directed for the stage by Tony Award winner Alan Cumming.

Presented as part of the annual Tennessee Williams Key West Festival in partnership with the Key West Art & Historical Society and Williams Hall, this powerful theatrical event explores a six-year period (1939–1945) never before dramatized on stage, the years that forged one of America’s most groundbreaking artists.  The play begins in a modest boarding house attic in New Orleans, where a 28-year-old Williams invites the audience to share a nightcap as a “kind stranger.”  From there, the story unfolds across America, through artistic failures, romantic heartbreak, literary ambition, and personal reckoning.  We witness the humiliating Boston collapse of his early play Battle of Angels, his obsessive dedication to writing, and the emotional devastation that hardened his once-romantic heart.

We also see the profound influence of his sister Rose’s mental illness, the real-life inspirations behind some of his most iconic characters, and the relentless persistence that led, finally, to the Broadway triumph of The Glass Menagerie in 1945, transforming him, seemingly overnight, into a literary force.

Storms has performed Tennessee Rising around the world, including extended Off-Broadway runs and a 23-performance engagement at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  Broadway World hailed the production as “an electrifying event not to be missed!”

Following each Key West performance, audiences are invited to remain for a special talkback with Storms, offering a rare opportunity for conversation and insight into the creation of the piece.

For those seeking a fully immersive evening, a limited number of dinner-and-a-show packages are available, featuring a three-course dinner at Unity Table prepared by Chef Martha Hubbard at 6:00 PM, followed by the 8:00 PM performance downstairs at Williams Hall.
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To reserve your ticket; visit kwahs.org/whats-on.  Tickets are $50 for general admission and $70 for balcony seating.  For more information, contact Dr. Cori Convertito on 305-295-6616 x507 or [email protected].
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