Review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Opens at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre

On a rainy night in 1940s New Orleans, a former Southern belle takes a streetcar to her younger sister’s shabby apartment. So begins Tennessee Williams’ 1947 masterpiece, A Streetcar Named Desire.

The Citadel Theatre's production is as atmospheric as they come: it includes a shadow-heavy lighting design and a tiered set featuring a shabby apartment cluttered with antique decor and appliances. The costumes- particularly Blanche DuBois' (Lindsay Angell's) crisp pastel wardrobe- further enrich the 1940s setting, as do the jazz music interludes evoking New Orleans' rich musical history. This world is a stark contrast to the one the glamorous Blanche left behind. To make matters worse, her longed-for reunion with her younger sister, Stella (Heidi Damayo), is quickly tarnished by Stella's volatile marriage to gambler Stanley Kowalski (Stafford Perry).

As the days pass, the instant animosity between Blanche and Stanley rises to fever pitch. This is only exacerbated by Blanche's blossoming romance with Mitch (Sheldon Elter), one of Stanley's best friends/poker buddies. Blanche's secrets- and the turbulent life she ran away from- slowly creep up on her, threatening her new romance and the fraught dynamics of the Kowalski household.

Any production of A Streetcar Named Desire demands world-class performers, and the Citadel's adaptation delivers. Angell's portrayal of Blanche is both formidable and fragile while Damayo embodies Stella's quiet strength and vulnerability. Like Angell, Perry delivers a larger-than-life performance, his volatile Stanley contrasting with Elter's portrayal of the awkward Mitch. Diffusing some of the palpable onstage tension are Jameela McNeil as Eunice and Paul Ford-Manguelle as the Kowalskis' perpetually bickering neighbours, Eunice and Steve. (McNeil also lends her dynamic vocals to the jazz music sections.)

Long-time admirers and newcomers to this American classic will be swept up in this captivating and haunting rendition. Edmonton audiences can catch A Streetcar Named Desire until October 13.

Photo by Nanc Price for The Citadel Theatre’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire (2024), produced in association with Theatre Calgary, featuring Stafford Perry, Lindsey Angell, and Heidi Damayo.  

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