A House Not Meant to Stand

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Steve Noll

Michael Kelley (left) and Stephanie Monday in "A House Not Meant to Stand."

Michael Kelley (left) and Stephanie Monday in "A House Not Meant to Stand," Madison Public Theatre, 2025.

This lesser-known Tennessee Williams play is still very, very Tennessee Williamsy. This was the last play he wrote before his death in 1983. It’s been referred to as a Gothic comedy; Williams himself called it a "Southern Gothic spook sonata,” and it is full of mental illness, family disintegration, and sexual shenanigans. Madison Public Theatre takes it all on with aplomb in this production of A House Not Meant To Stand, directed by Julia Houck. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (except 2 p.m. on May 24) and 2 p.m. Sunday.

media release: Madison Public invites you to experience A House Not Meant to Stand! This dark comedy is the final play by Tennessee Williams, one of America’s finest playwrightsDirected by Julia Houck.

Christmas 1982: Cornelius and Bella McCorkle of Pascagoula, Mississippi, return one stormy midnight from the funeral of their older son to a house and a life literally falling apart – daughter Joanie is in an asylum and their younger son Charlie is upstairs having sex with his pregnant, holy-roller girlfriend as the McCorkles enter. What ensues is a play of hidden family fortunes, lecherous neighbors, scheming fathers, madness, and even a ghost or two. In this dark, expressionistic comedy, what he called his “Southern Gothic Spook Sonata,” Williams brilliantly chronicles the fragile state of our world.