Shakespeare Theatre of NJ Announces 'Streetcar' Performances

For the first time under the leadership of Artistic Director Bonnie J. Monte, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will present the American classic A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.    Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays beginningSeptember 10 and continuing through October 5.  Performances are at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage, the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue in Madison.   Tickets range from $29 to $33 for Previews and $38 to $53 for regular performances, depending on performance day and time and seat location.   For tickets or more information, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org. Patrons may also purchase Ticket Packages for additional discounts.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for group discounts.

This event was selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as part of the American Masterpieces Series in New Jersey.  American Masterpieces is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts.     

Bonnie J. Monte directs the production.  "I have waited until this moment, when I could gather the very best actors -- including the esteemed Laila Robins -- to direct this play," said Ms. Monte.  "I am honored to have worked with Tennessee Williams at the Williamstown Theatre Festival earlier in my career, and so to direct his landmark play for the first time represents a wonderful and meaningful milestone for me."
In his review of the Broadway opening of A Streetcar Named Desire, which starred Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden, Brooks Atkinson wrote in The New York Times, "Out of poetic imagination and ordinary compassion, he has spun a poignant and luminous story."   He went on to call the play "the most imaginative and perceptive play (Williams) has written."    The play earned Jessica Tandy a Tony Award for Best Actress.   A Streetcar Named Desire was made into a film in 1951 earning Academy Awards for Vivien Leigh, Malden and Hunter in addition to 8 nominations.

Williams' 1948 Pulitzer Prize winning play of sensuality and fragility, cruelty and broken souls gave the world the immortal characters Blanche du Bois and Stanley Kowalski.

Broadway, film, television and Shakespeare Theatre veteran Laila Robins plays Blanche du Bois - the fading Southern belle running from her past.   With this production, Robins celebrates her 10th Season with The Shakespeare Theatre, where she has appeared in The Cherry Orchard, Macbeth,King John, The Three Sisters and many others.  On Broadway, she has appeared in Heartbreak House, The Herbal Bed, The Real Thing and Frozen for which she received a Lucille Lortel award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  Off Broadway, Ms. Robins has appeared in scores of productions including Antony and Cleopatra for which she received a Lucille Lortel award nomination for Best Actress and Mrs. Klein, opposite Uta Hagen, for which she received a Joseph Jefferson Award and a Helen Hayes Award nomination.  Her film and television credits include The Good Shepherd, True Crime, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Sex and the City and The Sopranos.   

Shakespeare Theatre veteran Gregory Derelian plays the sensual Stanley Kowalski.  In his 10th Season at The Shakespeare Theatre, Derelian most recently appeared in The Time of Your Life, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar and Macbeth.   On Broadway, Derelian appeared in Metamorphoses at Circle in the Square.  Off-Broadway, he appeared in the Drama League award nominated The Hairy Ape at Irish Rep, Oliver Twist and Antony and Cleopatra at Theatre for a New Audience and several productions at The Public Theatre.

Nisi Sturgis plays Stella Kowalski, Blanche's sister.  Sturgis appeared in The Shakespeare Theatre's 2006 production of Pride and Prejudice.  She has appeared at theatres throughout the nation in such productions as Mrs. Warren's Profession, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, The Taming of the Shrew, Pericles, and Much Ado About Nothing.

Broadway, film and television veteran Robert Clohessy plays Blanche's suitor, Mitch.  Clohessey appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award nominated Twelve Angry Men.  He has appeared at regional theatres across the nation including Yale Rep, Hartford Stage and Manhattan Theatre Club.  Television audiences will recognize Clohessey from his recurring roles on OZ, Hill Street Blues, Laurie Hill and New Amsterdam.

Shakespeare Theatre veterans Wendy Barrie-Wilson and Brent Langdon play Eunice and Steve Hubbell.  Barrie-Wilson appeared as Amanda Wingfield at The Shakespeare Theatre in The Glass Menagerie.  On Broadway she appeared in Our Town with Paul Newman and All My Sons with Richard Kiley.   Langdon appeared in The Shakespeare Theatre production of Henry V.  He has also appeared at Philadelphia Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville and Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

David Villalobos plays Pablo Gonzales and Yolande Bavan plays the Mexican Woman.  Villalobos appeared at The Shakespeare Theatre in Othello and with the Next Stage Ensemble.  At the Old Globe Theatre he appeared in Othello,A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale and Titus Andronicus among others.  Bavan appeared in Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac and Camino Real at The Shakespeare Theatre.  On Broadway, she appeared in Bombay Dreams and Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

Rounding out the cast are Justin Clark, Megan Irene Davis and Jon Barker.  

Performances of A Streetcar Named Desire begin September 10 and continue through October 5.       Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage, the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue in Madison.   Tickets range from $29 to $53 depending on performance day and time and seat location.  Single ticket prices include a $1 facility fee, not subject to discount.  For tickets or more information, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

Bonnie J. Monte is in her 18th Season as Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.   In her tenure, she has directed 40 productions for the Theatre including the critically acclaimed King Lear,A Christmas Carol, Henry V, and The Cherry Orchard.  She has also created a number of original translations/adaptations for the Main Stage including Pride and Prejudice, Marivaux's The Triumph of Love, Pirandello's Enrico IV, and Ostrovsky's Artists and Admirers and Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird.  Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Ms. Monte was a casting director at the prestigious Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. From 1981 to 1989, she was associate artistic director at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, working closely with renowned artistic director Nikos Psacharopoulos.  In 1982, she was part of a writing team, which included Psacharopoulos and Tennessee Williams, collaborating on an eight-hour, two-part production -Tennessee Williams: A Celebration - a retrospective tribute to Mr. Williams' entire literary canon.

 The first preview performance of A Streetcar Named Desire, on Wednesday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m., offers opportunities for reduced-price tickets as an incentive to first-time theatergoers as well as those who would otherwise not be able to afford a night at the theatre.  As always, the first preview performance is Pay What You Wish night -- name your own admission price for that evening's 7:30 p.m. preview performance.  Offer is subject to availability.  Call the box office at 973-408-5600 for details.

For no more than the cost of a regular ticket, Symposium Series performances include the additional treat of a post-play discussion with the cast and artistic staff, on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 20 at 2 p.m.

On Thursday, September 18, The Shakespeare Theatre presents the popular education program Know the Show. From 7:00 to 7:30 p.m., a member of the Theatre's artistic staff will present a pre-performance talk that provides background information and an insider's perspective on Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.

General admission to Know the Show is $5 for the general public, $4 for subscribers and ticket package holders. Tickets to that evening's 8 p.m. performance may be purchased separately for $42-$46.  Single ticket prices include a $1.00 Facility fee not subject to discount.

Creating the world of A Streetcar Named Desire are set designer Harry Feiner, costume designer Hugh Hanson, lighting designer Bruce Auerbach and sound designer Karin Greybash.  Broadway veteran Rick Sordelet will serve as fight director and Diego Daniel Pardo is the Dialect Coach.   Josiane Lemieux is the production stage manager.

Preview performances of A Streetcar Named Desireare Wednesday September 10 at 7:30 pm and Thursday and Friday, September 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.  Previews offer the thrill of seeing a work-in-progress before the show officially opens.  Preview tickets are $29 and $33.

Additional performances are Tuesdays and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. (excluding Opening Night at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 13); Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.; and Sundays, at 7:00 p.m.   

 The 2008 season also includes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which begins performances on October 15 and continues to November 16.   One of the most tragic and beautiful love stories ever penned - as wrenching a tale for old as it is for young - it has been nearly a decade since its brilliant characters and poetry illuminated The Shakespeare Theatre stage.

The season concludes with Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale running December 3 through December 28.   The first of Shakespeare's great romances, The Winter's Tale provides a perfect holiday finale, for it is a play that celebrates the triumph of love, nobility and all things good, and ends with the promise of rejuvenation, redemption, and hope.   

For more information about the season, to receive a free brochure, or to purchase tickets and ticket packages, call the box office at 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Main Stage, the 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, is conveniently located in Madison at 36 Madison Avenue (Route 124) at Lancaster Road (on the Drew University campus), just minutes from routes 287, 78 and 10. Parking is free.   The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre is barrier free with access into the theatre via a ramp and elevator access to all floors.   Wheelchair seating and transfer seating is available.  Braille and large print programs are available.   Infrared listening devices are available free of charge.  Some performances are audio described, captioned and sign-language interpreted.  Contact the theatre for more information.   For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org

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