Shirley Knight to Star in Tennessee Williams’ Final Play In Masks Outrageous and Austere

Tony Award winner Shirley Knight will star as Clarissa “Babe” Foxworth in the previously announced world premiere of  Tennessee Williams’ last play In Masks Outrageous and Austere. Directed by David Schweizer, the production begins performances April 5 and runs through May 26 at Culture Project. Opening night is set for April 16. No further casting or creative team members have been announced.

In Masks Outrageous and Austere tells the story of the richest woman in the world, who along with her husband and his young male lover, are kidnapped by the mysterious corporate forces behind the woman’s vast wealth.

Knight won a Tony Award for Kennedy's Children and was also nominated for The Young Man From Atlanta. Her other Broadway credits include Three Sisters, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Watering Place. Knight also recieved Oscar nominations for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Sweet Bird of Youth.

Williams began work on the play in 1979 and continued writing until his death in 1983. The play was discovered some years later, having been protected from public scrutiny by Tennessee’s friend, writer Gavin Lambert, who had collaborated with Williams on the dramaturgy of this work.