Camino Real is a 1953 play by Tennessee Williams. The title of the play can be pronounced "Ka-mee-no Ray-al" (with a Spanish pronunciation) or "Ka-min-o Reel" (with an American accent) - the title is intentionally ambiguous, that is, whether the play is about the "Royal Road" (the title's meaning in Spanish) or the "Real Road" (that is, the road of reality, the title's bi-lingual meaning combining English and Spanish). See also: 1952 in literature, other events of 1953, 1954 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), better known as Tennessee Williams, was a major American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards. ...

Although this dual meaning exists, Tennessee Williams makes a clear distinction through Sancho's lines that the Camino Real of the play is pronounced "Ka-min-o Reel".

SANCHO: Aw, naw. I know this place. (He produces a crumpled parchment.) Here it is on the chart. Look, it says here: "Continue until you come to the square of a walled town which is the end of the Camino Real and the beginning of the Camino Real. Halt there," it says, "and turn back, Traveler, for the spring of humanity has gone dry in this place..."

The setting is the main plaza of a poor town somewhere in the Spanish-speaking world. The town is surrounded by desert, and transportation to the outside world is sporadic. There is a large cast (40) including many famous literary characters borrowed by Williams that appear in dream sequences. The cast of characters includes Esmeralda (see The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Don Quixote and his partner Sancho, Marguerite "Camille" Gautier (see The Lady of the Camellias), Casanova, Lord Byron, among others. A young American visitor, Kilroy, fulfills some of the functions of a narrator, as does Gutman, manager of the hotel whose terrace occupies part of the stage. The play goes through a series of confusing and almost logic-defying events, including the revival of the gypsy's daughter's virginity and then the loss of it again. A main theme that it deals with is coming to terms with the thought of growing older and possibly becoming irrelevant. It was first produced on Broadway in 1953 with Eli Wallach in the role of Kilroy; Elia Kazan was the director and Anna Sokolow was assistant to the director. For his role as The Baron, David J. Stewart won the Clarence Derwent Award for most-promising male performer from the Actors' Equity Foundation. The play enjoyed a revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center in 1970, directed by Jules Irving, with roles played by Al Pacino and Jessica Tandy and Clifford David (Lord Byron). Look up emerald in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Hunchback of Notre Dame (original French title, Notre-Dame de Paris) is an 1831 French novel written by Victor Hugo. ... This article is about the fictional character and novel. ... The Lady of the Camellias (French: La Dame aux Camélias) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848. ... Giacomo Casanova (April 5, 1725 - June 4, 1798). ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... This article is about the graffiti. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915) is an American film, TV and stage actor. ... Elia Kazan, (Greek: Ηλίας Καζάν, IPA: ), (September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was a Greek-American film and theatre director, film and theatrical producer, screenwriter, novelist and cofounder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947. ... Anna Sokolow (born February 9, 1910, Hartford, Connecticut; died March 29, 2000 in New York City, New York) was an American dancer and choreographer. ... The Clarence Derwent Awards are Broadway theatre awards given annually by the Actors Equity Association. ... The Actors Equity Association, commonly referred to as Actors Equity, is an American labor union formed in New York City in 1913 by 112 actors working in the professional theatre. ... The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theatre at the Lincoln Center. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. ... Alfredo James Pacino (born April 25, 1940) is an Academy, Golden Globe, Tony, BAFTA, Emmy, and SAG award winning American actor who is best known for playing the roles of Tony Montana in the 1983 film Scarface and Michael Corleone in The Godfather Trilogy . ... Jessie Alice Tandy (June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994) was a noted Academy Award-winning English/American theatre, film and TV actress. ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ...

External links

• Camino Real at Internet Broadway Database