Shakespeare Downtown Presents Free Performances of Tennessee Williams’ Controversial and Rarely Performed “Tiger Tale” at Lower Manhattan’s Castle Clinton National Monument at The Battery from June 12–22, Directed by Geoffrey Horne.

Lower Manhattan’s Shakespeare Downtown brings the gothic heat, poetic intensity, and sexual tension of Tennessee Williams’ controversial and rarely performed “Tiger Tale” to the open-air walls of Castle Clinton from June 12-22, 2025. Geoffrey Horne directs Williams’ play about sexuality and power - based on Elia Kazan’s film “Baby Doll” - which itself was based on Williams’ one-act “27 Wagons Full of Cotton.” Tickets are free and available at the door of Castle Clinton National Monument at the Battery at 5:45 p.m. on the day of the performance.

In “Tiger Tail,” Archie Lee, a down-at-the-heels Mississippi cotton gin owner with a child bride, Baby Doll (Billie Andersson) crosses rival gin owner Silva Vacarro (Juan Pablo Toro) - the Sicilian who exacts his revenge by seducing the young bride.

WHAT: Tennessee Williams’ “Tiger Tale”
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12
6:30 p.m. Friday, June 13
6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14
6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 15
6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 19
6:30 p.m. Friday, June 20
6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21
6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22
WHERE: Castle Clinton National Monument, The Battery (Battery Park) New York, NY 10004
TICKETS: Free tickets available the day of the performance at Castle Clinton starting at 5:45 p.m.
RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes, no intermission.

Shakespeare Downtown - Now in its ninth season, and serving over 10,000 audience members, Shakespeare Downtown has a history of producing quality classical theatre that’s accessible to everyone including: “Romeo and Juliet” (2016), “Richard III” (2017), “A Midsummer Night's Dream” (2018), “Hamlet “(2019), “The Three Sisters “(2021), “Saint Joan” (2022), “The Lady of the Camellias” (2023), and “Macbeth” (2024).