In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel Review – Tennessee Williams in Japan

Penned by famed playwright Tennessee Williams in 1968-1969, IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL makes its West Coast premiere at the Hudson Theatre in 2025. First produced off-Broadway in 1969 followed by its UK premiere in 1983, IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL is one of Williams’ rarely seen plays. About the off-Broadway production in 1969, Theater Critic Clive Barnes of the New York Times opined: “The play seems almost too personal…this is Mr. Williams’ sad bird of loneliness…fascinated me with the author’s occasional sudden resurgence of skill…there are more flashes of genius here than in any of his later plays.”

Paul Coates and Susan Priver – Photo by Doug Engalla

The time is the spring of 1969, and the place is a bar in Tokyo. Miriam (Susan Priver) sits alone in a hotel bar, apparently waiting for someone. When she focuses on the attractive and trim bar man (Remington Hoffman), she immediately goes into seduction mode – much to the embarrassment of the younger and clearly less experienced fellow. Is she really interested in the bar man – or simply trying to prove to herself that she is still an attractive sexual being? When her drunk and disheveled husband Mark (Rene Rivera) staggers into the bar, it immediately becomes clear that their relationship had devolved into Mark’s dependence on Miriam and her disdain of his condition. Is it any wonder that she has contacted Leonard (Paul Coates), a Manhattan art dealer, to try to escape from Mark’s company by asking Leonard to take Mark with him back to New York? The idea of divorce seems unattractive due to the ongoing lure of Mark’s money. Besides, Mark may be exhibiting the first signs of rampaging psychosis. But is the relationship only one-sided? As the two do the dance of torment and pain, nothing is as it seems.

Paul Coates and Rene Rivera – Photo by Doug Engalla

Skillfully helmed by Jack Heller, IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL is an intriguing character study of two people caught in a lonely, hopeless, and desperate prison of their own making. The talented cast – with special kudos to Susan Priver for her anguished portrayal of the promiscuous and unfulfilled Miriam – digs deep into the personalities of the artist and his directionless spouse longing for something meaningful in her life.

Susan Priver and Remington Hoffman – Photo by Doug Engalla

Joel Daavid’s set design is intimate and 1960s Asian, the perfect setting for two dissociated people struggling with loneliness and desperation. Shon LeBlanc’s costumes take us back to the ‘60s, and Matthew Richter’s lighting and sound add to the unchanging outer world punctuated by the internal churnings of everyone in the story. Williams’ skill in writing prevails in this one-act character study. IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL will definitely appeal to Tennessee Williams’ fans – and also to aficionados of the recent history of theater. Given how infrequently this play is produced, it would certainly behoove theater lovers to take the opportunity to see this excellent production.

Paul Coates – Photo by Doug Engalla

IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL runs through May 18, 2025, with performances at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. Hudson Backstage Theatre is located at 6359 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038. Tickets are $40. For information and reservations, go online.