Packet 9: Tossup 12

In an infamous review of this play, Mary McCarthy wrote that it “reeks of literary ambition” like the setting “reeks of cheap perfume.” This play describes characters as having the “emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer” and “an uncertain manner that suggests a moth.” This play’s third act invokes Van Gogh’s Night Cafe to describe four men sitting around a kitchen table. This play’s “lurid reflections” first appear on the walls when the back of the set turns into a transparent street scene and a woman tries to place a call to Dallas. This play’s lead “cries out as if [it] was herself” when a man rips a paper lantern off a lightbulb. (10[1])This play’s music includes a sinister Varsouviana and a “Blue Piano” that expresses the “spirit of life” in Elysian Fields. For 10 points, the bellowed line “Stella!” appears in what play by Tennessee Williams? ■END■

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