The Night of the Iguana

The Night of the Iguana is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams. It is based on his 1948 short story. In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years he developed it into a full-length play, producing two different versions in 1959 and 1960, and then arriving at the three-act version that premiered on Broadway in 1961. Two film adaptations have been made: The Oscar-winning 1964 film directed by John Huston and starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr, and a 2000 Croatian production. Description The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon characterizes the Western image of God as a "senile delinquent" during a sermon and is locked out of his church. Shannon is not defrocked, but he is institutionalized for a "nervous breakdown". In 1940s Mexico, some time after his release, the Rev. Shannon is working as a tour guide for a second-rate travel agency. Shortly before the opening of the play, Shannon is accused of committing statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl, Charlotte Goodall, who is among his current group of tourists. As the curtain rises, Shannon and a group of women arrive at a cheap hotel on the coast of Mexico managed by his friends Fred and Maxine Faulk. Fred has recently died, and Maxine has assumed sole responsibility for managing the establishment. Struggling emotionally, Shannon tries to manage his tour party, who have turned against him for having sexual relations with the minor, and Maxine is interested in him for purely carnal reasons. Adding to this chaotic scenario, spinster Hannah Jelkes appears with her elderly grandfather, Nonno, who, despite his failing health, is composing his last poem. Jelkes, who scrapes by as a traveling painter and sketch artist, is soon at Maxine's mercy. Shannon, who wields considerable influence over Maxine, offers Hannah shelter for the night. The play's main axis is the development of the deeply human bond between Hannah and Shannon.