<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Stairs to the Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams, the last of his apprentice plays . It was completed in December 1941, and premiered (as a full - scale production) at the Pasadena Playhouse on February 26, 1947 . </P> <P> The play is based on earlier stories written by Williams, including "The Swan" and most specifically, one of the same title written in October 1936, after he had recovered from a nervous breakdown arising from his experiences working in the relentlessly mechanical world of the large International Shoes factory in St. Louis, Missouri . Unlike that story, the play is optimistic, with elements of romance and fantasy, and a deus ex machina ending . </P> <P> The subtitle of the play (and of the earlier story) is "A Prayer for the Wild of Heart That are Kept in Cages"; though that phrase conveys the seriousness of the playwright's chosen topic, its treatment, particularly the elements not present in the original story (such as the Mummers play - within - a-play and the swan - on - a-lake scenes), lighten the tone with elements of fantasy . </P>

A prayer for wild at heart kept in cages