“It seems like the whole future hangs on it. I mustn't ever again permit myself to care this much about any public success. It makes you little, and altogether too vulnerable.”


To Williams’s relief, the play was well-received. New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson wrote, “It is the loveliest idyll written for the stage in some time...Mr. Williams [is] at the top of his form.” In a follow-up piece, he remarked, “Behind the fury and uproar of the characters are the eyes, ears, and mind of a lyric dramatist who has brought into the theatre a new freedom of style.” The production won Tony®


Awards for best play, set


design (Boris Aronson), and featured performances by Stapleton and Wallach, who became stars with this show. Although Williams continued to send acting notes to Stapleton through the run, he appreciated the creative experience and its impact on his career.


“If it had been a smash hit like Streetcar or a dismal failure like Summer and Smoke it would have been, either way, bad for me. As it is, I think it provides what is most essential, a bridge to the future.”•


Maureen Stapleton and Don Murray in the original production of The Rose Tattoo Photo George Karger, Pix, Inc


Frank Merlo: The Little Hose


Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo in an undated photograph Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University


Nicknamed “The Little Horse” by Williams, Frank Merlo was “extremely positive,” like “a stick of dynamite” with a strong sense of humor. The script’s description of Alvaro Mangiacavallo suggests Merlo’s influence: “twenty-five years old, dark and very good-looking. He is one of those Mediterranean types that resemble glossy young bulls.” Williams not only dedicated the play to Merlo—he also gave him a share of the profits.


The son of Sicilian immigrants, Merlo was born in 1921 and grew up in the Italian section of Elizabeth, New Jersey. He joined the Navy and fought in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he acted in some small movie roles, then found his way to Manhattan’s bohemian (and gay) scene. As he became part of Williams’s life, friends saw Merlo as a positive and stabilizing influence. Williams said Merlo was his personal secretary so they could travel together, but Merlo made little effort to closet the relationship. When asked by the president of Warner Brothers what he did, Merlo replied, “I sleep with Mr. Williams.” Their 14-year relationship was not always smooth, but even after the couple separated, they remained close. Williams was taking care of Merlo as Frank died of lung cancer in 1963.


THE ROSE TATTOO UPSTAGE GUIDE


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