A Streetcar Named Desire
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Cititour.com Review
Depending on how many trips one has taken to New Orleans’ Elysian Fields – through numerous Broadway productions, an Oscar-winning movie, and award-winning television productions of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” -- it’s logical to have some misgivings about journeying there again! But trust me, it’s worth going to Brooklyn’s BAM Harvey Theatre, where the mostly splendid Almeida Theatre production of this landmark 1947 drama has landed for a limited run.
Unquestionably, there is an obvious attraction even for the most jaded folks to attend: the first (and maybe last) chance to see Oscar nominee and rising superstar Paul Mescal live on stage, taking on the iconic role of the coarse Stanley Kowalski. But here’s the best reason: If you pass up the chance to see Olivier Award winner Patsy Ferran give a remarkably unconventional and consistently compelling performance as Stanley’s deeply unhappy sister-in-law Blanche DuBois, you will regret it later.
The show’s plot (should you not know it) revolves around Blanche’s supposedly brief visit to the squalid, two-room New Orleans home of her younger, married sister Stella (an earthy Anjana Vasan, completely convincing as a woman so in love -- and so sexually attracted – to her husband that she allows herself to be treated shabbily by him despite her upscale upbringing). Yet, despite Blanche’s dislike of her new surroundings – and Stanley’s instant, obvious dislike of his pretentious relative – she digs her heels in, desperate for refuge.
Having first lost the family plantation, Belle Reve, due to mounting debts, and then (as we eventually learn) having been thrown out of the town of Laurel, Mississippi for behavior that includes possible prostitution and an affair with an 17-year-old student, Blanche has nowhere else to go, no money to live on, and no other opportunity for redemption.
Ferran, a dark brunette with a wiry frame, perfectly captures both Blanche’s nervous energy – which causes her to drink too much alcohol and take long, hot, calming baths – as well as her keen instinct for survival. Her end plan --specifically, marriage -- is always in her sights, and she is determined not to let anything, or anyone stand in her way. She lies – about her age, her past -- because she needs to rather than wants to, especially to her eventual suitor “Mitch,” (a fine Dwane Walcott), a poker buddy and co-worker of Stanley, who lives with his dying mother and has enough manners to bring Blanche flowers.
On some level, though, Ferran’s Blanche is always aware that Stanley will be her undoing if she can’t escape his home in time. Indeed, long before Stanley learns the details of Blanche’s sordid past (which also includes her early marriage to a young gay boy who commits suicide shortly after their wedding night), she is constantly asking Stella what has been said about her -- a query that mystifies Stella since she steadfastly believes in her sister’s goodness.
What Blanche may not foresee is the late-in-the play sexual attack by Stanley that ultimately breaks her spirit. Unfortunately, director Rebecca Frecknall has her two stars play this pivotal scene in a slightly ambiguous manner that undercuts its power. In fact, first-time viewers of the work may not even fully understand what has transpired.
Still, Mescal is a constant marvel, changing from brutality and anger to wounded tenderness in the blink of an eye; his rendering of the famous “STELLA” scream is shattering in its own way. He also brings real intelligence to Stanley, which exists side by side with his animal nature. We understand why Stanley is the only one of his friends with a higher-level job (traveling salesman) and are not completely shocked when he vigorously corrects Blanche calling him a “Polack” rather than a “Pole.” While far from a saint, Mescal’s Stanley even engenders a dash of sympathy for resenting how much Blanche has upended his home, his routine and his marriage.
Sadly, we really don’t get much sense of that home as Frecknall (who is also responsible for the current Broadway production of “Cabaret”) stages the entire play on an initially empty two-tiered platform (by Madeline Girling) that is only sporadically populated by props. She also adds a drummer (Tom Penn) above the stage, among other “gimmicks,” and even throws in a few onstage rain showers for no good reason. Fortunately for us, nothing Frecknall does can drown out Williams’ gorgeous poetry or his message about human frailty.
So, if there’s still a ticket to be had to this “Streetcar,” go buy it!
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.bam.org/streetcar
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/11/2025
Closing 4/6/2025
Theatre Info
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St
Neighborhood: Fort Greene
Brooklyn, NY 11217
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