The theatrical division of International Literary Properties (ILP) has entered into a partnership with the University of the South. ILP, which invests in, acquires, manages and enhances literary and theatrical estates, will assume an active management role and co-stewardship of the works of Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams.
The Sewannee, Tennessee-based university has managed the estate of the “Glass Menagerie” and “Streetcar Named Desire” scribe since 1996, having been gifted the playwright’s collection of papers in his will upon his death in 1983. In this new phase of estate stewardship, the ILP and the University will manage future stage productions of Williams’ work, as well as film, television and other cross-media projects. ILP will continue to work closely with the properties’ key representatives and publishers, such as Casarotto Ramsay and Associates in London and several imprints at Concord Theatricals for stock and amateur licensing.
“We are thrilled to work closely with the University of the South on this collection from one of the greatest American playwrights, Tennessee Williams,” ILP Theatrical chair Thomas B. McGrath said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating and expanding these works’ influence on the theatrical and entertainment landscape across the globe.”
“The University’s partnership with ILP marks an important next chapter in Sewanee’s stewardship of the Tennessee Williams estate and promotion of the playwright's extraordinary legacy,” added University of the South vice-chancellor and president Rob Pearigen. “Our rich tradition in literature and letters with programs across the University, including the Sewanee Review, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Young Writers’ Conference, the School of Letters, the Tennessee Williams Center and the College’s theater, English and creative writing departments will benefit from this new strategic relationship.”
Williams is one of only eight playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama more than once, having been honored in 1948 for “A Streetcar Named Desire” and in 1955 for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” In 1951, Williams won the Tony Award for Best Play for “The Rose Tattoo” and received subsequent nominations in 1956 for “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” 1962 for “The Night of the Iguana” and posthumously in 1999 for “Not About Nightingales.” Williams is one of the most frequently revived playwrights in Broadway history; his “Glass Menagerie” alone has received seven Main Stem revivals since its 1943 premiere. Williams was most recently represented on Broadway with a Roundabout Theatre Company-produced mounting of “The Rose Tattoo” in 2019.
Established in 2020, ILP’s catalog includes the recently acquired literary catalog of Alfred Uhry, as well as the works of Damon Runyon, Somerset Maugham and Langston Hughes.
