The Hippodrome State Theatre, through the generous grant support of the Florida Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is proud to present Tennessee Williams: Remembering the Florida Years, a celebration of the life and works of the internationally acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.  All events are free and open to the public. 
The festival begins Saturday, February 28 at 1:00 p.m. with the Hippodrome’s East Gallery premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Key West. Step into South Florida of yesteryear and experience the Caribbean charm of Tennessee Williams’ life and work in Key West.  This imaginative gallery exhibition, showcasing original artwork by Tennessee Williams and artifacts from the East Martello Museum of Key West, is brought to life by Florida Art Historian Anne Lisca and Florida artist Lorelei Esser.  With a limited run only, this fantastic montage of Tennessee Williams memorabilia is a must-see!  Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 6 p.m.  - 10 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 1 p.m.-10 p.m., through March 22. 
On Sunday, March 1 at noon the festival’s keynote speaker, internationally acclaimed author Lyle Leverich, will discuss Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie.  In 1979, Williams selected Leverich to be his authorized biographer, and the two began a close collaboration.  Leverich’s first volume of the critically acclaimed biography Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams was honored with both the George Freedley Award and the Lambda Award for Best Theater Book of the Year.  Leverich is currently writing his second book on Williams, which tells the story of Williams’ success following The Glass Menagerie through the end of his life. 
The series continues with an FHC sponsored matinee performance of The Glass Menagerie at 2:00 p.m. on the Hippodrome Mainstage.  Two hundred free tickets will be available at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 1.  Following this presentation, audiences are invited to join a post-show discussion, Tennessee Williams and American Dramatic Literature.  Williams’ inimitable style provided the impetus for other writers to cultivate strong artistic voices.  Panelists Lauren Caldwell, Hippodrome Artistic Director; Dr. David Young, UF Graduate Professor of Theatre and Dance; and Dr. David Shelton, UF Professor of Theatre will discuss the significance of Williams’ work with emphasis on his impact upon Southern dramatic literature. 
The festival resumes Saturday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. with a lecture by Marsha Bellavance-Johnson who will discuss her book Tennessee Williams in Key West and Miami.  Bellavance-Johnson, a noted biographer of both Williams and Ernest Hemingway, will incorporate a slide presentation in this insightful discussion of Williams’ life and his contributions to the South Florida community. 
On Sunday, March 8 at 4:30 p.m. audiences will be delighted with the very intimate discussion, I Remember Tennessee, featuring Williams’ longtime friends and confidants, Jack Fricks and Robert Hines.  Fricks first met the playwright, along with Gore Vidal, in Rome in 1948.  Hines, an accomplished author, first met the playwright in New Orleans in 1959.  Hines’s poems have been published in the United States and Europe. 
On Saturday, March 14 the festival includes a 1:00 p.m. screening of the 1954 Academy Award-winning film, The Rose Tattoo (filmed in Key West), starring Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani.  Join us for a 3:00 p.m. post-show discussion by noted film critic and educator Dr. Mickie Edwardson, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Telecommunication.