One of the highlights of the evening tribute to Tennessee Williams, and there were many, was actress and opera singer Sherry Boone. As she assumed the stage wearing a sleeveless evening gown and a choker of pearls, no one in the audience had any idea what they were in for.
Sherry Boone began reading Tennessee Williams’ poem “Gold Tooth Blues.” Ms. Boone captured the poem’s cadence immediately and then naturally broke into song—a blues song, of course. Donning the persona of the “gold tooth woman” in Tennessee Williams’ poem, Sherry Boone transported us from a Gothic cathedral in Manhattan to a smokey blues cafe in New Orleans. I was reminded of my friend and Tennessee Williams scholar Kenneth Holditch, who resides in New Orleans, and how much this moment would have meant to him.
Ms. Boone finished singing “Gold Tooth Blues” with her right foot on the stage and her left foot raised behind her in the air. How’s that for body language!
