Tennessee Williams Program 34th Annual | Page 26

THEATER OFFERINGS
THE FESTIVAL WELCOMES SPECIAL GUEST: KATHLEEN TURNER
Since her breakout role as femme fatale extraordinaire Matty Walker in Body Heat, Kathleen Turner has
delivered pitch-perfect performances that cut across genres on screen and stage. From playing dark comedy in
War of the Roses to action/romance in Romancing the Stone, Turner has crafted a diverse filmography that has
established her as a leading screen talent. Standout roles include Irene in Prizzi’s Honor and the title role in
Peggy Sue Got Married, for which she received a best actress Academy Award© nomination. Memorably, Turner
lent her slinkiest voice to the animated Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as Jessica Rabbit. She also received Tony
Award nominations for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (for which she also received
an Evening Standard Theatre Award in the West End and Drama Desk Award nomination). She is also the
recipient of two Grammy Award nominations, as well as two Golden Globes Awards. Her film credits include
The Man with Two Brains, Jewel of the Nile, The Accidental Tourist, The Virgin Suicides, among many others
On stage, Turner made her Broadway debut in 1978 in Albert Innaurato’s Gemini, with Reed Birney. In 1990,
breathing life into the role of Maggie, she delivered a striking performance in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof, in which she starred opposite Charles Durning. In 1995, Turner portrayed Yvonne, a codependent
mother to Michael, played by Jude Law, in Indiscretions, an adaptation of Cocteau’s Les Parents Terribles.
Two plays of note traveled from Broadway to London’s West End: In Terry Johnson’s The Graduate, Turner
played Mrs. Robinson, starring opposite Jason Biggs; and in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,
Turner redefined the role of Martha, earning her highest marks to date. The onstage chemistry with co-star Bill
Irwin was shattering and garnered rave reviews. As Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: “When [Turner]
sits at the center of the stage quietly reciting a litany of the reasons she loves her dearly despised husband, you feel she has peeled back each layer of her
skin to reveal what George describes as the marrow of a person.” Back on Broadway, in High (2010), Turner employed this same intensity to embody
a foul-mouthed, alcoholic nun charged with trying to save a young addict (Evan Jonigkeit). In 2014, at the Duchess Theatre in London, she starred
opposite Ian McDiarmid in Stephen Sachs’ Bakersfield Mist.
Turner has relished opportunities to perform in illustrious regional theaters, notably as the title character in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly
Ivins at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Geffin in Los Angeles, and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. At Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., she
mesmerized audiences in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children and in Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.
In addition to her strong work on big screen and stage, Turner has left her mark on television, with memorable appearances on Friends as Chandler’s
cross-dressing father; in Californication as the sublimely lecherous Sue Collini; and in Hulu’s The Path. She has also lent her inimitable voice to iconic
animated series such as The Simpsons and King of the Hill. Most recently she guest starred on The Kominsky Method with Michael Douglas, Mom with
Allison Janney and Anna Faris and Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings on Netflix.
Also a best-selling author, she wrote the books Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles and Kathleen Turner on Acting. Turner
recently expanded her repertoire with the development of her first cabaret performance, Finding My Voice, which debuted in Philadelphia in the fall of
2017 and which will continue in selected cities across the country.
KATHLEEN TURNER WILL APPEAR IN:
HOW TO WORK WITH ACTORS: A MASTERCLASS FOR WRITERS WITH KATHLEEN TURNER
March 26, 11 AM
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS TRIBUTE READING
March 26, 6:30 PM
AND
TAKING THE LEAD: STAGE AND SCREEN LEGEND KATHLEEN TURNER IN CONVERSATION,
March 28, 7:30 PM
24 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS & NEW ORLEANS LITERARY FESTIVAL