|
''Sweet Bird of Youth'' is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago (travelling incognito as Princess Kosmonopolis), whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. The main reason for his homecoming is to get back what he had in his youth: primarily, his old girlfriend, whose father had run him out of town years before. The play was written for Tallulah Bankhead, a good friend of Tennessee. ==Plot== ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' originated ''circa'' 1956 as two plays: a two-character version of the final play featuring only Chance and the Princess, and a one-act play titled ''The Pink Bedroom'' that was later developed into Act Two of the play, featuring Boss Finley and his family.〔 Self-professed as coming from the "wrong side of the tracks" of St. Cloud, Florida, Chance Wayne loves Heavenly Finley. She is the daughter of wealthy 'Boss' Thomas J. Finley, a corrupt and ruthless politician/businessman who has a strong belief in chastity and parades his daughter around in a white dress showcasing her as the perfect virgin. Finley doesn't like bastards, or anyone he considers less than well bred, around his "puppet" Heavenly. Chance first meets Heavenly at the Finley's country club, where he is a waiter. Chance approaches Boss Finley, seeking permission to see Heavenly formally, en route to a future proposal of marriage. Finley will, of course, never allow this. So, he entices Chance with the American Dream of fame and fortune in Hollywood, just to get Chance to leave town, and he sends his daughter away on a long tour of Europe to get her away from Chance as well. Years later, Chance returns to St. Cloud with temperamental and drunken movie star Alexandra Del Lago. She intends to retire because she is embarrassed about her last movie role. Chance hopes to blackmail Del Lago with a surreptitious tape recording in order to get a part in a film. However, Chance is distracted by Heavenly and stops pursuing Del Lago. Heavenly still loves Chance and wants to escape her dictating father. Boss Finley wants to run Chance out of town again, but it will be a little more difficult this time, if only because of the notoriety of Miss Del Lago. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sweet Bird of Youth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|