In the history of modern theater, there is before A Streetcar Named Desire and after. The initial 1947 production is indelibly tied to Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio, which was founded in the same year. Marlon Brando, who starred in the original production, was not the first the actor to use method acting, but for many he was the first actor who embodied it.
In Tennesse Williams'
Streetcar, Blanche Dubois (Barb McElroy) is suffering from what might now be diagnosed as Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder after multiple deaths in her family, the loss of her ancestral home, Belle Reve (think Tara), and her job as a high school English teacher. The purpose of her trip to New Orleans is ostensibly to visit her sister Stella (Rae Mancini), who is married to Stanley Kowalski (Ara Boghigian), an ex-G.I. The sad truth is that she has no where else to go.
All of Blanche’s possessions fit into a single steamer trunk. The contents of the trunk include ratty fur pieces and worn-out ball gowns. If one dug around long enough they might find a rat-nibbled wedding cake. Though she hasn’t any money to her name, Blanche still sniffs at the two-room, barely furnished apartment that her sister shares with her husband.
Stanley takes an instant dislike to Blanche, believing that she has swindled Stella out of her share (and his share and their unborn child‘s share) of a family fortune. Stanley is determined to discover and expose the truth about Blanche.
At one of Stanley’s frequent poker games Blanche meets Stanley’s co-worker and friend Mitch (Mark Gentsch). Mitch is single and has a job and a ill mother whom he dotes on. Blanche is smitten and spends the rest of the play trying to seduce him with her false modesty.
Stanley soon discovers that Blanche has been essentially run out of her hometown for being a woman of loose morals. Blanche’s unsavory reputation was capped by her affair with a 17 year old boy. His worse suspicions confirmed, Stanley shares the information with Stella and with Mitch.
The stress of the situation sends Stella into premature labor. Stanley and Stella rush to the hospital. While Blanche is alone in the house she is visited by Mitch who rails against her deceit. When Stanley returns, he vents his rage at Blanche through rape. Blanche’s psychotic break is now complete.
Trevor Elliot has created a set with intricate wrought iron that invokes the molder and decay of mid-century New Orleans. I am, once again, overwhelmed by an elaborate set with the use of limited space. When faced with the dilemma of what to do with all of the additional iconography that accompanies Tennessee Williams’ landmark play, director Ed Shea mostly ignores it and successfully creates a production that can stand on its own. In the 1951 film adaptation, the three characters are roughly equal. In the play, Blanche is the pivotal character. This is one of a few differences from the 1951 film that audiences may pick up on.
Shea obviously paid careful attention while casting this production. The principals give solid performances. Ara Boghigian gives a rich performance as the volatile Stanley. Rae Mancini’s does a fine job as Stella, though she is a bit reserved. Barb McElroy give a nuanced performance as Blanche. McElroy looks like a schoolteacher, more like Jessica Tandy than Vivien Leigh. McElroy nails the deluded nature of Blanche, especially during monologues, and struggles only slightly with the dreamy or flighty nature.
A Streetcar Named Desire plays at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, RI each Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 through May 24th. Tickets are $25.00 each and can be purchased at the Box Office, which is located at 28 Market St., Warren, RI or by calling the Box Office at 401-247-4200. For more information visit www.2ndstorytheatre.com.
Photo: Ara Boghigian (left) as Stanley Kowalski and Rae Mancini (right) as Stella Photo credit: 2ndStoryTheatre/Richard W. Dionne, Jr.
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