Sweet Bird of Youth is a play by Tennessee Williams that tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his hometown as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra del Lago travelling incognito as Princess Kosmonopolis , whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. The main reason for his homecoming is to get back what he had in his youth, primarily, his old girlfriend, whose father had run him out of town years before.
The play was written for Tallulah Bankhead , a good friend of Williams. Sweet Bird of Youth originated around as two plays: a two-character version of the final play featuring only Chance and the Princess, and a one-act play titled The Pink Bedroom that was later developed into Act Two of the play, featuring Boss Finley and his family.
In St. Cloud, native son Chance Wayne has fled his hometown, seeking to profit from his beauty and youth in New York or Hollywood. When he fails as an actor and a personality in both cities, he becomes a gigolo. As the traveling escort of his employer, Chance returns to St. Cloud to win back his childhood lover, escorting an aging, depressed, semi-alcoholic film star: Alexandra del Lago, who is running away from the negative criticism of her recently released comeback film.
Del Lago had been burying herself in sex, alcohol, and drugs until Chance recognized her while hustling in a Florida resort. He saw in her a last chance to build a relationship taking care of her while on their drive back to Hollywood, with him as her escort. As he and del Lago are driving along the Sunset Route back to California, Chance hopes that he will reunite with Heavenly Finley, his childhood sweetheart, and bring her back to Hollywood, where โ with del Lago's aid โ they will both achieve stardom.
Once back in St. Cloud, Chance discovers Heavenly is only a shadow of the girl he knew. During his last visit to St. Cloud, she became pregnant. When she discovered the problem, she had to have an abortion and because of an unskilled doctor's knife, the abortion resulted in a hysterectomy and her sterility. Her father and brother are determined to make Chance pay for the injury done to Heavenly.
