Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
The Rose Tattoo
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Play by Tennessee Williams}} {{about|the 1951 play||Rose Tattoo (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox play | name = The Rose Tattoo | image = RoseTattoo.JPG | caption = First edition cover ([[New Directions Publishing|New Directions]]) | writer = [[Tennessee Williams]] | characters = {{unbulleted list | Serafina Delle Rose | Alvaro Mangiacavallo | Man | The Strega | Father De Leo | Doctor | Teresa | Flora | Salesman | Miss Yorke | Rosa Delle Rose | Peppina | Salvatore }} | setting = Gulf Coast village between New Orleans and Mobile | premiere = 3 February 1951 | place = [[Martin Beck Theatre]] | orig_lang = [[English language|English]] | subject = | genre = Drama | web = }} '''''The Rose Tattoo''''' is a three-act play written by [[Tennessee Williams]] in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication by [[New Directions Publishing|New Directions]] the following month.<ref>[1] Williams, Tennessee. Plays 1937–1955. Mel Gussow and Kenneth Holditch, eds. New York: Library of America, 2000, p. 1033. {{ISBN|978-1-883011-86-4}}</ref> A [[The Rose Tattoo (film)|film adaptation]] was released in 1955. ''The Rose Tattoo'' tells the story of an [[Italian-American]] [[widow]] in [[Mississippi]] who has withdrawn from the world after her husband's death and expects her daughter to do the same. The setting is a place in proximity to [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]]. Jacob Adler stated that the story is disconnected from the [[culture of the Southern United States]] as the plot "has almost no Southern connections".<ref>Rea, p. 141.</ref> ==Background== People originating in [[Sicily]] in real life became involved in the fruit industry in the area around [[New Orleans]] in the late 1800s,<ref>Rea, pp. 141–142.</ref> and according to Robert Rea, the playwright had a friend named Marion Black Vaccaro and that the playwright "likely" was aware of how the [[Vaccaro brothers]] created their fruit business via said friend.<ref>Rea, p. 142.</ref> ==Productions== [[File:Maureen Stapleton Don Murray The Rose Tattoo 1951.jpg|thumb|left|Maureen Stapleton and [[Don Murray (actor)|Don Murray]], 1951]] The original Broadway play starred [[Maureen Stapleton]], [[Phyllis Love]], and [[Eli Wallach]]. Other original cast members of the 1951 Broadway play included [[Martin Balsam]] and [[Vivian Nathan]].<ref name=thr>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Barnes|title=Vivian Nathan, Original Member of The Actors Studio, Dies at 98 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/vivian-nathan-dead-actors-studio-787755 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=2015-04-10 |access-date=2015-04-25}}</ref> The original production of ''The Rose Tattoo'' premiered February 3, 1951, at the Martin Beck Theatre (now known as the [[Al Hirschfeld Theatre]]) and concluded October 27, 1951, with a total of 306 performances. It was [[Theatrical producer|produced]] by [[Cheryl Crawford]], written by Tennessee Williams; [[incidental music]] by David Diamond, [[Stagecraft|staged]] by [[Daniel Mann]], [[scenic design]] by [[Boris Aronson]], [[Costume designer|costumes designed]] by Rose Bogadnoff, [[Lighting designer|lighting designed]] by Charles Elson, [[Theater manager|general manager]] John Yorke, [[Stage-manager|stage manager]] Ralph De Launey, [[Conductor (music)|conductor]] and [[harpist]] Nettie Druzinsky, musicians: Michael Danzi, Jack Linx and Frank Kutak, production associate Bea Lawrence, and press representative Wolfe Kauffman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-rose-tattoo-1912|title=The Rose Tattoo – Broadway Play – Original {{!}} IBDB|last=League|first=The Broadway|website=www.ibdb.com|access-date=2018-10-09}}</ref> The play was recreated for a July 5, 1953, hour-long [[radio adaptation]] on the program ''[[Best Plays (radio)|Best Plays]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2750370/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=The Decatur Daily Review|date=July 5, 1953|page=40|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = July 5, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref> Recordings of the radio drama exist in [[Audio archive|archives]] and private collections. The play was revived in 1966, again starring Maureen Stapleton, with [[Maria Tucci]] replacing Phyllis Love in the role of Rose Delle Rose. Tucci was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play]] for her performance.<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/the-rose-tattoo-billy-rose-theatre-vault-0000002766 The Rose Tattoo 1966 Playbill Vault] accessed 11/23/2016</ref> The revival ran from November 9 to December 31 at the Billy Rose Theatre (now known as the [[Nederlander Theatre]]) with 62 performances under the direction of [[Milton Katselas]]. Scenic design was by David R. "Tex" Ballou, costume design by Frank Thompson, lighting designed by Peggy Clark, stage manager Ray Laine, and press representatives Arthur Cantor and Artie Solomon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-rose-tattoo-3337|title=The Rose Tattoo – Broadway Play – 1966 Revival {{!}} IBDB|last=League|first=The Broadway|website=www.ibdb.com|access-date=2018-10-09}}</ref> The second revival, starring [[Anthony LaPaglia]] and [[Mercedes Ruehl]], took place in 1995 from March 23 to April 30, running for 73 performances at the [[Circle in the Square Theatre]] with casting by Stuart Howard and Amy Schecter under the direction of Robert Falls. Scenic design was by Santo Loquasto, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by John Kilgore, hair and make-up design by Claus Lulla, wig design by John Aitchison, general manager Don Roe, management consultant Gordon G. Forbes, stage manager Peggy Peterson, assistant stage manager Wm. Hare, and dialect coach K. C. Ligon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-rose-tattoo-4297|title=The Rose Tattoo – Broadway Play – 1995 Revival {{!}} IBDB|last=League|first=The Broadway|website=www.ibdb.com|access-date=2018-10-09}}</ref> New Directions Publishing reissued the play in 2010 with a new introduction by playwright [[John Patrick Shanley]]. A third Broadway revival starring [[Marisa Tomei]] and directed by Trip Cullman premiered at the [[American Airlines Theatre]] in previews on September 19, 2019, and officially on October 15.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/marisa-tomei-broadway-the-rose-tattoo-revival-tennessee-williams-roundabout-theatre-company-1202618877/|title=Marisa Tomei Headed To Broadway For Tennessee Williams' 'The Rose Tattoo' Revival|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=2019-05-20|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/196524/full-casting-announced-for-marisa-tomei-led-revival-of-the-rose-tattoo/|title=Full Casting Announced for Marisa Tomei-Led Revival of The Rose Tattoo|website=Broadway.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/read-reviews-for-broadways-the-rose-tattoo-starring-marisa-tomei-and-emun-elliott#|title=Read Reviews for Broadway's The Rose Tattoo, Starring Marisa Tomei and Emun Elliott|date=2019-10-15|website=Playbill}}</ref> ==Sources== For many years critics have looked for possible sources in Italian literature, suggesting such authors as [[Giovanni Verga]] or [[Luigi Pirandello]]. In 2016 an Italian critic for the first time found the undeniable inspiration for this play in [[Eduardo De Filippo]]'s 1946 play ''Filumena Marturano''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clericuzio |first1=Alessandro |title=Tennessee Williams and Italy. A Transcultural Perspective. |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |year=2016 |location=London |pages=114–121}}</ref> In the play, which was staged in Rome while the playwright was living in the city in the 1940s, the main character speaks one-to-one with the Madonna of the Roses in the same way that Serafina Delle Rose does in ''The Rose Tattoo''. ==Controversy== On May 12, 1957, the [[Pike Theatre]] in [[Dublin]], Ireland, staged ''The Rose Tattoo'' with [[Anna Manahan]] as the lead and the Irish scenic artist [[Reginald Gray (artist)|Reginald Gray]] as the set designer. After a short run, the theatre was invaded by the [[Irish police]] and director [[Alan Simpson (theatre director)|Alan Simpson]] was arrested for producing "a lewd entertainment" for [[Mime|miming]] dropping a [[condom]] onto the floor. Williams' script calls for a condom to fall out of a pocket during the show but the Pike staging mimed the act, knowing it would cause conflict. An intellectual revolt against the closing of ''The Rose Tattoo'' came from not only Ireland but from the continent, led by playwrights [[Samuel Beckett]], [[Seán O'Casey]] and [[Brendan Behan]]. Simpson was later released. The presiding judge, Justice O'Flynn, ruled: "I can only infer that by arresting the accused, the object would be achieved of closing down the play." One of the results of this case was that any charges brought against theatre would have to be proven before the show could be forced to close.<ref name="Morash2002" /> == Cast == {| class="wikitable" style="width:1000;" !Characters ! 1951 original Broadway production ! 1966 Broadway revival ! 1995 Broadway revival ! 2019 Broadway revival |- !Serafina Delle Rose | colspan="2" align="center"| [[Maureen Stapleton]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Mercedes Ruehl]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Marisa Tomei]] |- !Alvaro Mangiacavallo | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Eli Wallach]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Harry Guardino]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Anthony LaPaglia]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Emun Elliott]] |- !Rosa Delle Rose | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Phyllis Love]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Maria Tucci]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Cara Buono]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Ella Rubin]] |- !The Strega | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Daisy Belmore]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Georgia Simmons | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Irma St. Paule]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Constance Shulman]] |- !Estelle Hohengarten | colspan="1" align="center"| Sonia Sorel | colspan="1" align="center"| Marcie Hubert | colspan="1" align="center"| Deborah Jolly | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Tina Benko]] |- !Miss Yorke | colspan="1" align="center"| Dorrit Kelton | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Barbara Townsend]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Elle Tobie | colspan="1" align="center"| Cassie Beck |- !Salvatore | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Sal Mineo]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Sonny Rocco | colspan="1" align="center"| Anthony Manganiello | colspan="1" align="center"| Alexander Bello |- !Jack Hunter | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Don Murray (actor)|Don Murray]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Christopher Walken]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Dylan Chalfy | colspan="1" align="center"| Burke Swanson |- !Peppina | colspan="1" align="center"| Augusta Merighi | colspan="1" align="center"| Jo Flores Chase | colspan="1" align="center"| Suzanne Grodner | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Andréa Burns]] |- !Father De Leo | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Robert Carricart]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Dino Terranova | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Dominic Chianese]] | colspan="1" align="center"| N/A |- !Violetta | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Vivian Nathan]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Ruth Manning | colspan="1" align="center"| Fiddle Viracola | colspan="1" align="center"| Ellyn Marie Marsh |- !Vivi | colspan="1" align="center"| Judy Ratner | colspan="1" align="center"| Elena Christi | colspan="1" align="center"| Jackie Angelescu | colspan="1" align="center"| Isabella Iannelli |- !Mariella | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Penny Santon]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Anna Berger Malatzky | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Elaine Bromka]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Jennifer Sánchez |- !Flora | colspan="1" align="center"| Jane Hoffman | colspan="1" align="center"| Gina Collens | colspan="1" align="center"| Catherine Campbell | colspan="1" align="center"| Portia |- !Salesman | colspan="1" align="center"| Eddie Hyans | colspan="1" align="center"| L.M. Gibbons | colspan="1" rowspan="2" align="center"| Phillip LeStrange | colspan="1" align="center"| Greg Hildreth |- !Doctor | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Andrew Duggan]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Kevin O'Morrison]] | colspan="1" align="center"| N/A |- !Giuseppina | colspan="1" align="center"| Rossana San Marco | colspan="1" align="center"| Rossetta Veneziani | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Carol Locatell]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Susan Cella |- !Assunta | colspan="1" align="center"| Ludmila Toretzka | colspan="1" align="center"| Nina Varela | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Antonia Rey]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Carolyn Mignini |- !Bessie | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Florence Sundstrom]] | colspan="1" align="center"| [[Peggy Pope]] | colspan="1" align="center"| Kay Walbye | colspan="1" align="center"| Paige Gilbert |- !Bruno | colspan="1" align="center"| Salvatore Taormina | colspan="1" align="center"| Peter Flazone | colspan="1" align="center"| N/A | colspan="1" align="center"| Jacob Michael Laval |} == Film adaptation == {{main|The Rose Tattoo (film)}} A film adaptation starring [[Anna Magnani]] was released in 1955. Magnani won an [[Academy Award]] for her performance. == Awards and nominations == === 1951 Original Broadway Production === {| class="wikitable" ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Award ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Category ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Nominee ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Result |- | rowspan="6"| 1951 | rowspan="2"| [[Theatre World Award]] | [[Theatre World Award|Outstanding Individual]] | [[Maureen Stapleton]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Theatre World Award|Outstanding Individual]] | [[Eli Wallach]] | {{Won}} |- | rowspan="4"| [[Tony Award]] | colspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play|Best Featured Actor in a Play]] | [[Eli Wallach]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]] | [[Maureen Stapleton]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Play|Best Scenic Design]] | [[Boris Aronson]] | {{Won}} |} === 1966 Broadway Revival === {| class="wikitable" ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Award ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Category ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Nominee ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Result |- | rowspan="2"| 1967 | [[Tony Award]] | [[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play|Best Featured Actress in a Play]] | [[Maria Tucci]] | {{Nominated}} |- | [[Theatre World Award]] | [[Theatre World Award|Outstanding Individual]] | [[Christopher Walken]] | {{Won}} |} === 1995 Broadway Revival === {| class="wikitable" ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Award ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Category ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Nominee ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Result |- | rowspan="3"| 1995 | rowspan="2"| [[Drama Desk Award]] | [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play|Outstanding Actress in a Play]] | [[Mercedes Ruehl]] | {{Nominated}} |- | [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play|Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play]] | [[Anthony LaPaglia]] | {{Nominated}} |- | [[Tony Award]] | colspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play|Best Revival of a Play]] | {{Nominated}} |} === 2019 Broadway Revival === {| class="wikitable" ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Award ! scope="col" style="width:35em;"| Category ! scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Nominee ! scope="col" style="width:1em;"| Result |- | rowspan="4"| 2020 | rowspan="2"| [[Drama League Award]] | colspan="2"| Outstanding Revival of a Play |{{Nominated}} |- | Distinguished Performance | [[Marisa Tomei]] | {{Nominated}} |- | rowspan="2"| [[Tony Award]] | [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]] | Fitz Patton and Jason Michael Webb | {{Nominated}} |- | [[Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Play|Best Costume Design in a Play]] | [[Clint Ramos]] | {{Nominated}} |} == See also == * [[History of Italians in Mississippi]] == References == *{{cite journal|last=Rea|first=Robert|url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA374334675&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00384291&p=AONE&sw=w|title=Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo: Sicilian Migration and the Mississippi Gulf Coast|via=[[Gale Academic Onefile]]|journal=[[The Southern Literary Journal]]|date=Spring 2014|volume=46|issue=2|publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]]|jstor=24389063|pages=140–154|doi=10.1353/slj.2014.0009}} - [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/564100 See also at] [[Project MUSE]] ===Notes=== {{reflist | refs = <ref name="Morash2002"> {{cite book | last = Morash | first = Christopher | title = A History of Irish Theatre: 1601–2000 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2002 | edition = illustrated | pages = 322 | isbn = 978-0-521-64682-6 }} </ref> }} == External links == * {{IBDB show|7632}} * {{IMDb title|qid=Q634694|id=tt0048563|title=The Rose Tattoo|description=(film)}} * [https://archive.org/download/BestPlays/BestPlays53-07-1944TheRoseTattoo.mp3 1953 ''Best Plays'' radio adaptation of original play] at [[Internet Archive]] *[https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?mss0270 Ralph Delauney papers related to Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo] from [https://library.udel.edu/special/ Special Collections, University of Delaware Library] {{Tennessee Williams}} {{TonyAwardBestPlay 1947-1975}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose Tattoo, The}} [[Category:1951 plays]] [[Category:Broadway plays]] [[Category:American plays adapted into films]] [[Category:Plays by Tennessee Williams]] [[Category:Plays set in Mississippi]] [[Category:Tony Award–winning plays]] [[Category:New Directions Publishing books]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:About
(
edit
)
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Cite news
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:IBDB show
(
edit
)
Template:IMDb title
(
edit
)
Template:ISBN
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox play
(
edit
)
Template:Main
(
edit
)
Template:Nominated
(
edit
)
Template:Open access
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)
Template:Tennessee Williams
(
edit
)
Template:TonyAwardBestPlay 1947-1975
(
edit
)
Template:Use mdy dates
(
edit
)
Template:Won
(
edit
)
Search
Search
Editing
The Rose Tattoo
Add topic