Overview
Synopsis
One of Tennessee Williams’ most subtle and tender works, Summer and Smoke explores the conflict between the hedonistic body and the lofty spirit. Set in Mississippi, Alma Winemiller, the minister’s daughter, has grown up loving the boy who lives next door: John Buchanan, the doctor’s son, is a wild, adventurous, mischievous pleasure seeker. He spends the hot Mississippi summers drinking, gambling, and romancing. His only religion is the anatomy chart on his wall, and what it teaches him about man’s needs: food, truth, and lovemaking. Alma, on the other hand, is quiet, eccentric, and high-strung. Her name means “soul” in Spanish; she aspires to lofty spiritual goals, and holds to strong moral standards. Despite their differences, John and Alma are magnetically drawn to each other, and the spiritual and physical romance that almost blooms between the two of them is among the most engaging, romantic, and heartbreaking love stories in Williams’ canon.
Show Information
- Book
- Tennessee Williams
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1948
- Genres
- Drama, Romance
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- glorious hill, mississippi, 1916
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- None
- Dancing
- None
- Licensor
- Samuel French
- Ideal For
- professional theatre, regional theatre, community theatre, college theatre, medium cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen Characters, Large Cast
Context
Tennessee Williams began writing Summer and Smoke in 1945 and finished it three years later in 1948. The play was originally titled Chart of Anatomy, but the title was changed most likely in reference to the line from the Hart Crane poem “Emblems of Conduct.”
"The wanderer later chose this spot of rest
Where marble clouds support the sea
And where was finally borne a chosen hero.
By that time summer and smoke were past."
The show first opened for a run in Dallas, then on
to read the context for Summer and Smoke and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One: A Summer
The play opens at a park in Glorious Hill, Mississippi, around the turn of the 20th Century. The centerpiece of the park is the statue of an angel, called “Eternity” in faded letters at her base.
Ten year-old Alma Winemiller enters to have a drink from the fountain; she is followed shortly by her neighbor and classmate, John Buchanan, Jr. Alma, the preacher’s daughter, is already considered odd by her peers: she has an air of piety and naiveté about her. John, the
to read the plot for Summer and Smoke and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
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Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
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|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
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|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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