An untimely death, cannibalism, repressed homosexuality, a truth serum and a lobotomy? You can find ‘em all in Tennessee Williams’ provocative Southern drama “Suddenly Last Summer” the centerpiece of a Tennessee Williams @ 100 Conference at the University of Michigan. The play begins this Thursday runs through next weekend. The conference takes place next Wednesday-Saturday.

The event, put on by the U-M Department of Theater and Drama, will celebrate the work of the prolific, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. Scholars, playwrights—including Christopher Durang—and theater artists will be on hand to share their perspectives on Williams’ impact on American theater, the American consciousness, and the world theater, as well as his influence on writers throughout the last century and continuing into the present one.

“I think we’re doing our part to create a loud applause for one of our great, great playwrights on his 100th birthday,” said Philip Kerr, who is directing “Suddenly Last Summer.”

“A lot of (Williams’) work has been resurrected across the country in honor of 100 years of what is to me our greatest dramatic poet of the 20th century,” Kerr added. “I think all artists sort of pour themselves into their work, obviously. But I think no playwright that I’m aware of put such private anguish in such a public arena as Tennesee Williams. He really put so much of himself into his plays.”

‘“Suddenly Last Summer’” was written in 1957 when (Williams) was undergoing psychotherapy to discover more about himself and to really try to level out his life, which is a dangerous undertaking for an artist. I think a lot of what he was personally going through at the moment he put into this rather extraordinary play,” Kerr said.

In addition to the production of “Suddenly Last Summer,” the U-M Residential College will present three works: performances of the one-acts “The Parade” and “Talk to Me in the Rain,” as well as a staged reading of “Something Cloudy, Something Clear.” Basement Arts, the theater department's student-run company, will offer Durang's “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls,” a parody of Williams' “The Glass Menagerie.” Additionally, there will be a screening of the film version of “Suddenly Last Summer,” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn, with a discussion led by Frank Beaver, professor emeritus of Speech and Communications.

Most conference events take place in the Walgreen Drama Center located at 1226 Murfin Drive on the University of Michigan’s North Campus.

As keynote speaker, Durang will reflect on his connections to Tennessee Williams’ work and share excerpts from his parody “Desire, Desire, Desire” on Oct. 12 (free, 7 p.m., Stamps Auditorium).

The one-act “Suddenly Last Summer” revolves around Violet Venable, who is distraught by her son Sebastian’s mysterious death abroad. Sebastian had spurned his mother’s companionship on his last trip, choosing instead to travel with his cousin Catharine. Since returning to New Orleans, Catharine’s rants about the trip have begun to tarnish Sebastian’s pristine reputation.

In part jealous of her dismissal by her son for a younger woman, Violet is ruthlessly determined to protect his memory at any cost. She seeks the aid of Dr. Cukrowicz, a young surgeon specializing in the new field of lobotomy, promising generous funding for his research provided he perform one on Catharine. As the doctor and Violet hear Catharine’s tale first hand, a mother’s illusion clashes with a grisly tale of sex and exploitation that may just be closer to the truth.

Paired with “Something Unspoken,” “Suddenly Last Summer” debuted Off-Broadway in 1958 under the collective title “Garden District.” Critics immediately heralded the work for its unique language and theatrical form.

“When this play was done, in January 1958, it was a play that terrified Williams,” said Kerr. “He was undergoing his own psychotherapy, it was very personal, a very violent play (and) he was very afraid that the public would respond adversely to some of the themes in the play and the very writing itself. But it was a critical success. It was play that fascinated people.

“Although it’s not as well known as some of his major works, like ‘Glass Menagerie,’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ or ‘Streetcar Named Desire,’ it’s a play that if you know something about Williams, you are immediately drawn to. … Personally he was an alcoholic, he was very dependent on drugs, he was a lonely person, he needed friends but he was not an easy friend to have. He was a very complicated man. His life paid the price for the greatness of his art,” Kerr said.