An inside peek at Marlon Brando & Tennessee Williams’ first meetup: “The best-looking young man I’ve ever seen”
Kowalski. Queerty obtained exclusive access to promotional photos for the production:Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.This much we know: At 23 years old, Brando had yet to gain much attention despite appearing in five Broadway plays.
Kazan had produced the short-lived Truckline Cafe and was impressed with Brando. Critics not so much—the play closed after 13 performances. “There was nothing you could do with Brando that touched what he could do with himself,” Kazan is quoted as saying in the biography Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh. “In those days he was a genius.
His own preparation for a scene, his own personality, memories and desires were so deep that there was very little you had to do, except tell him what the scene was about.”Brando reluctantly agreed to the gig, and Kazan gave him $20 for cab fare to head to Massachusettes to read for the playwright.
He pocketed the money and hitchhiked instead. When he finally arrived, the house was flooded, and Brando quickly set about unclogging the pipes, no pun intended.Ostrin’s play stars Brandon Flynn (Marlon Brando), Robin Lord Taylor (Tennessee Williams), Sebastian Treviño (Pancho Rodriguez), and Alison Cimmet as Margo Jones, the impassioned director known for staging The Glass Menagerie.
