They include Don Quixote and his partner Sancho, Marguerite "Camille" Gautier (see The Lady of the Camellias), Casanova, Lord Byron, and Esmeralda (see The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), and others.

Taking place in the main plaza, the play goes through a series of confusing and almost logic-defying events, including the revival of the Gypsy's daughter (Esmeralda)'s virginity and then the loss of it again.

Characters include Lord Byron, Gypsy and her sex-driven daughter, Esmerelda, La Madrecita, a blind singer, and Casanova at an advanced age.

Other characters appear in dreams, including Camille, Lord Byron, Esmeralda, La Madrecita (a blind singer), and Baron de Charlus, the sexual seeker who is murdered.

[6] For the 1953 Broadway production, directed by Kazan with assistance by Anna Sokolow, the cast included Eli Wallach (as Kilroy), Frank Silvera (as Gutman), Joseph Anthony (as Casanova), Jo Van Fleet (as Marguerite "Camille" Gautier), Jennie Goldstein (as the Gypsy), Barbara Baxley (as Esmeralda), and David J. Stewart (as the Baron).

[8] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times called it "a strange and disturbing drama," which seemed to be "a dark mirror" of "Mr. Williams's concept of life — full of black and appalling images.

A black-and-white production, it was directed by Jack Landau and starred Martin Sheen, Lotte Lenya, Tom Aldredge, Michael Baseleon, Albert Dekker, and Hurd Hatfield.

[10] In January 1970, the play enjoyed its first Broadway revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, directed by Jules Irving and starring Al Pacino (Kilroy), Victor Buono (Gutman), Patrick McVey (Don Quixote), Jean-Pierre Aumont (Casanova), Jessica Tandy (Camille), Sylvia Syms (the Gypsy), David J. Stewart (the Baron), Susan Tyrrell (Esmeralda), and Clifford David (Lord Byron).

In June 1999, Nicholas Martin staged a production at the Williamstown Theater Festival, featuring Ethan Hawke (Kilroy), Jeffrey Jones (Gutman), Richard Easton (Casanova), Blair Brown (Marguerite Gautier), Christian Camargo (Baron de Charlus and Lord Byron), Hope Davis (Esmeralda), Kristine Nielsen (The Gypsy), and John Seidman (Lord Mulligan and Don Quixote).

"[1] In October 1999, Michael Wilson mounted another revival at the Hartford Stage, with a cast including James Colby (Kilroy), Helmar Augustus Cooper (Gutman), Rip Torn (Casanova), Betty Buckley (Marguerite Gautier), Novella Nelson (Gypsy), Lisa Leguillou (Esmeralda), John Feltch (Baron de Charlus, Lord Byron and Don Quixote), Natalie Brown (Lady Mulligan) and Nafe Katter (Lord Mulligan).