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Galecki returns to stage as Tennessee Williams in 'Kowalski' at Lookingglass Theatre

The Big Bang Theory actor plays the playwright in a Chicago production imagining Williams' first meeting with young Marlon Brando.

newest coverage 16h agosummary written 14h ago4 pieces MastodonNewswires

What to know

  • Galecki, absent from acting since The Big Bang Theory ended, stars as Tennessee Williams in the Chicago premiere of "Kowalski," a play dramatizing the playwright's 1947 encounter with 23-year-old Marlon Brando.
  • The production depicts Brando's audition for the role of Stanley in "A Streetcar Named Desire," sent by director Elia Kazan to win Williams' favor.
  • Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones calls Galecki's performance a revelation, highlighting his grasp of Williams' contradictory nature; Sun-Times critic offers a more mixed assessment of the play itself.

Johnny Galecki Actor playing Tennessee WilliamsGregg Ostrin PlaywrightTennessee Williams Historical subjectMarlon Brando Historical subjectLookingglass Theatre Venue

Galecki returns to stage as Tennessee Williams in 'Kowalski' at Lookingglass Theatre
Chicago Tribune

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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Sep 21yesterdaytodaynow · 11:21 PM ET
  1. 1

    Chicago Sun-Times calls 'Kowalski' a fanfiction that could go deeper

    Steven Oxman's review in the Chicago Sun-Times takes a more measured view of the production, describing it as fanfiction that has room for greater development, particularly around the underwritten character of Jo, Brando's girlfriend.

    “Johnny Galecki is quite the revelation as Tennessee Williams. Why? Because Galecki clearly understands — and knows how to actualize on a stage — the famous 20th century playwright's bespoke cocktail of vulnerability, humility, humor, horniness and lust for power.”
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune theater critic · source
    1. 2 outlets Review: Johnny Galecki channels Tennessee Williams in ‘Kowalski’ at Lookingglass Theatre

      first by Chicago Tribune, 3d ago · also Chicago Sun-Times

      1 more headline
  2. background

    Chicago Tribune reviews Galecki's performance as revelatory — Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune praises Galecki's portrayal of Williams, noting his understanding of the playwright's combination of vulnerability, humor, and ruthlessness. Jones highlights Galecki's early Steppenwolf Theatre credentials and argues that Williams' real self-portrait in "A Streetcar Named Desire" was the character Stanley Kowalski, not Blanche DuBois.

  3. background

    Johnny Galecki cast as Tennessee Williams in Chicago production — Johnny Galecki, returning to acting after his departure from The Big Bang Theory, is added to the cast of a Chicago tryout of "Kowalski" at Lookingglass Theatre on the Magnificent Mile, presumably as a step toward a potential Broadway run.

  4. background

    Gregg Ostrin's 'Kowalski' premieres off-Broadway — Playwright Gregg Ostrin's play "Kowalski," which re-creates and riffs upon a real-life meeting between Tennessee Williams and a young Marlon Brando in Williams' Provincetown home, debuts as an off-Broadway production.