Most people know Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie as the least disguised and most deeply autobiographical of Williams’s plays, the positive reception of which elevated him to immediate celebrity. He was applauded as loudly for Menagerie as he was booed for his previous play Battle of Angels. Williams later described… read more
Theatre + Performing Arts
In the galleries: "Girls! Girls! Girls! Did You Marry Your First ‘Gentlemen Caller’?"
The 1950 screen version of The Glass Menagerie has been judged the “first and worst” adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play. Williams himself abhorred it as “the most awful travesty… horribly mangled,” lacking any vestige of the poetic techniques of the play. Although Williams helped to adapt the script, he… read more
Harry Houdini slideshow celebrates 137th birthday
The Harry Ransom Center owns a collection of materials related to magician Harry Houdini, whose 137th birthday is today. This slideshow highlights some examples of materials in the collection. Parts of the Houdini (1874-1926) collection pertain to the numerous magicians with whom Houdini cultivated personal relationships, but the focus of… read more