Orpheus Descending

Orpheus Descending is Tennessee Williams’ classic gothic tale of danger, despair, and desire. Set in a claustrophobic southern town with dark and volatile secrets, a passionate yet emotionally-crippled shopkeeper named Lady Torrance is trapped in an unspeakably bad marriage arranged years earlier under unsavory circumstances. When a drifter named Valentine, a young alluring musician, mysteriously descends into her life, a chain of events is set into motion that transforms the town’s simmering air of violence into an explosive climax.

Filled with themes familiar to Tennessee Williams fans — sexuality, repression, and an intense longing for freedom — Orpheus Descending is one of Williams’ seldom produced classics.