Unwanted Laughter was presented at a fundraiser for the LGBTQ+ World History Museum, the Musem of Ancient Wonders and the Twice Blessed group at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs.

Written by award winning, internationally acclaimed playwright Marty Martin. This three-character, two-act play, featured the region's most talented and skilled actors: Yo Younger in the role of Tallulah, Jason Mannino as Tennessee, and Sonia Boyd Reavis as Tallulah’s understudy, Sandy, directed by Phylicia Mason.

In the summer of 1956, a potentially historic production of Tennessee Williams’ classic drama A Streetcar Named Desire starring the irrepressible Tallulah Bankhead is on the rocks. Her portrayal as Blanche Dubois draws laughter from the audience during the play's most sensitive scenes. Desperate, a special rehearsal has been called for the hard-drinking, savagely competitive pair to solve the problem. Unfortunately, it isn’t faring any better, as together, these bitingly hilarious old friends face the brutality of aging after a lifetime of excess in what could prove to be their last bid for triumph.

Although the play occurs at the legendary Coconut Grove Theater in Miami, Florida, Tallulah and Tennessee were not strangers to Palm Springs. From the 1920s and throughout the 1950s, Greta Garbo, William Haines, Liberace, Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Cary Grant, and Eartha Kitt, to mention a few escaped the rigors of the studio system’s strict contractual Morals Clause to live authentically behind the verdant walls of their estates and bungalows.

In the context of Streetcar Named Desire, Unwanted Laughter promises hilarious wit and heartbreaking insights into the lives of two of America’s legendary thespians during a time of sexual repression and legal jeopardy.

November 9th, 2024