by Tennessee Williams
directed by Preston Lane
Williams’ rarely-seen masterpiece is a battle of wills and a race against the inevitable. With little time left, young Lot returns to the Mississippi Delta to reclaim his ancestral home just as rising storm waters are about to consume it. He arrives with his new bride, Myrtle, and the all-consuming memories of his late mother. Caught up in her own romantic fantasies and the hope of a happy life, Myrtle soon discovers that Lot only married her to keep the property from its long-time caretaker, his embittered half-brother, Chicken. As the rain falls and the river threatens to flood the land, the three engage in a brutal, comic and intensely shocking power play for possession of all they’ve ever known.
This production is recommended for mature audiences.
"In Kingdom of Earth, they deliver a refined mint julep of a production with a decidedly sharp twist."
Play: a largely ignored work of an American master. Director: one of the gutsiest risk-takers in American regional theatre today. Actors: three Triad Stage newcomers who stir things up a bit. Such are the makings of Kingdom of Earth, the latest Triad Stage production.
From the graceful fragility of glass to the juxtaposition of lace and chains, and now to an omnipotent, mostrous flood, the sets at Triad Stage continue to transform words into three-dimensional feelings. And there's one woman who continually aids the mission.