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Brenda Murphy has provided a fascinating casebook of the collaborative process between two of the most important figures in mid-twentieth century American theatre in Tennessee Williams & Elia Kazan. The study of the director's and playwright's work on Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird of Youth illustrates the inner workings of a partnership which helped shape theatre as we know it.
Murphy provides a useful framework for this study in her first chapter by distinguishing between the "reading version" and "acting version" of the scripts, both of which are available in print. The "reading version" generally represents Williams's play as he wanted it to be remembered. The "acting version" more or less records the first production: cuts, additions and physical layout result from collaboration with Kazan and his design team.
With this basis for her sources clearly laid out, Murphy examines each play's original production in minute detail, from William's first draft of...