Intiman Cabaret presents

Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams

Written & Performed by Jacob Storms
Originally Directed for the Stage by Alan Cumming

November 8-10, 2024

The Intiman Cabaret at the Erickson Theatre
1524 Harvard Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

21+

Tennessee Rising sheds light on the unexplored early years of young Tennessee Williams, one of the great American playwrights. The world is on the brink of World War II and a young gay writer named Tom has finally escaped his family home only to be confronted with the harsh realities of life. To get ahead, he creates a new character for himself to play, Tennessee Williams, and so begins his meandering journey wherein we meet the people in his life who will go on to inspire his most iconic characters, all while young Williams grapples with first love, professional triumph and torment, heartbreak, and ultimately “the catastrophe of success.” If you thought you knew Tennessee Williams, think again! 

Join us as we transform the Erickson Theater into the Intiman Cabaret with table and bar seating, cocktail lounge service, and a theatrical mix of one-person plays, drag and performance art, musical acts and more. Bring your friends, family, significant other, or treat yourself to an elegant evening of live entertainment and delightful cocktail service you won’t soon forget!

Cabaret performances are 21+ (proof of age required for entry).

Meet the Artist

Jacob Storms is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning actor and playwright. His solo play Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams (originally Directed for the stage by Tony Award winner Alan Cumming) has entertained and enthralled audiences around the world since first receiving the United Solo Award for Best One-Man Show out of one-hundred- twenty solo plays (representing six continents) at the United Solo Festival, (the largest solo-play festival in the world) which takes place in New York City.

Most recently, Storms performed a critically lauded twenty-three back-to-back performance engagement of Tennessee Rising with Assembly at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, for which Jacob was nominated for the United Kingdom’s Off-West End (Offie) Award and shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence.

Storms has also been featured in The New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Playbill, GQ, The Times, Broadway World, The Scotsman, The List Magazine, Backstage Magazine, Fest Magazine, The Stage UK, Gay City News, The Oregonian, DC Theatre Arts, New York Theatre Wire, The Front Row Center, andThe Theatre Times.

Jacob is also known for his recurring role (Serge) in Steven Soderbergh & Gregory Jacobs’ Amazon Original Series, Red Oaks. More performance highlights of Jacob Storms’ Tennessee Rising include headlining the New Orleans & St. Louis Tennessee Williams Festivals, Off-Broadway engagements at Bill T. Jones’ New York Live Arts Theater, The Cell Theatre, and an extended run at AMT Theater in addition to Club Cumming, Lakeside Theatre in Ajijic Mexico, and more!

As an actor, Jacob has been fortunate to collaborate with legendary directors in film and theater including Amy Heckerling, Alan Cumming, Gregory Jacobs, acclaimed Indie-film director/screenwriter Hal Hartley, Terry Schreiber, and Julie Garfield (daughter of The Group Theatre’s John Garfield), in addition to the late, beloved comedic actor/writer/director Taylor Negron. Other highlights include being handpicked by groundbreaking Beijing based multi-media artist Wang Jianwei to perform in his North American solo exhibition debut (Time Temple) at The Guggenheim Museum, as well as mentoring under Thomas Lauderdale, founder, and maestro of the internationally renowned “little orchestra,” Pink Martini.

Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright credited Jacob as the youngest actor in the world to have ever performed Wright’s one-man (thirty-five character) play I Am My Own Wife, which Storms performed his senior year of high school in his hometown Portland, Oregon, where he was advised by and worked closely with the now late author Ursula Bacon, who’s memoirs (Shanghai Diary and Eternal Strangers) documented her escape from Nazi Germany as a young German Jew when she and her family escaped to China in 1939.

Following his extended run performing I Am Own Wife at age 18, Storms moved to New York City where he was invited to be a member of the founding class of actors of the Terry Schreiber Studio’s first full-time conservatory program, forty-one years after the studio’s formation in 1969.

As a lifelong singer and interpreter of the Great American Songbook, Jacob has performed at Carnegie Hall, BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House, Rose Concert Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Hollywood Bowl, L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, Symphony Space, The National Arts Club, Birdland, Green Room 42, Justin Timberlake’s Nexus Club, and more!

To stay in touch with Jacob follow him on Instagram @therealjacobstorms and Jacobstorms.net

INTIMAN MEMBERSHIP

Become an Intiman Member and save 30%!

Being an Intiman Member is more than discount tickets and fun events, it’s a way to support the theatre you love. Members provide a source of monthly funding, which makes Intiman’s theatre programming and arts education programs possible. Options start at just $8/month!

Members receive:

Additional Information

All Intiman Cabaret performances are 21+ only. Proof of age is required for entry (ID required). No refund will be given if access is denied based on failure to show proof of age.

There is a 2 drink minimum per guest. Tables have a pre-set minimum, and surcharges will be added to your tab if it is not met (ex. only 2 guests arrive at a 4 top table). Non-alcoholic options are available.

All tables have cocktail service, with a limited snack menu. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options are available, ranging from $8-$15 each.

Service will be provided twice during the evening: upon arrival, and during intermission.

No late seating. Shows begin promptly, please arrive at least 15mins early to allow for seating and service. No refund for late arrivals.

  • The Intiman Cabaret at the Erickson Theater is ADA accessible, including the bathroom facilities and lobby.
  • There is one table reserved for ADA seating (Table F3). This table is marked with a white ADA emblem, and can accommodate 1 or 2 wheelchairs.
  • STAIRS: Please note, all seats and tables require the use of stairs except for the tables in row F. If you have issues using stairs, please book a table in row F.

If you have additional accessibility needs or any questions, please reach out and we will do our best to accommodate! Email us at boxoffice@intiman.org and let us know how we can help.

Supported By

Support Intiman’s work by making a tax-deductible donation today. Donations create union jobs in Seattle (we work with all of the theatrical unions), provide free and subsidized education programs, and make free tickets available for every performance. Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, and Members!