[NEohioPAL]Berko review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (CPH)

[Roy Berko]

‘STREETCAR’ GIVES A PROFICIENT, BUT NOT COMPELLING
RIDE AT CPH

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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Tennessee Williams is considered one of America’s
greatest modern playwrights.  His works, along with
those of Eugene O’Neil, Arthur Miller and William
Inge, have reached the level of classics and continue
to be produced and produced.  For example, ‘STREETCAR
NAMED DESIRE,’ now on stage at the Cleveland Play
House, has had over 20,000 productions since it opened
on Broadway in 1947 and went on to win many awards
including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  

The play, and its movie version, have many highlights.
 It was Williams’ second smash hit, following on the
heels of his THE GLASS MENAGERIE.   In 1995 it was
made into an opera with music by Andre Previn.

Vivien Leigh garnered an Academy Award for the movie
version for her portrayal of Blanche, while Jessica
Tandy won the Tony Award for her portrayal in the
staged version.  In contrast to what many believe, the
role of Stanley was not Brando’s first Broadway
appearance.  He was in ‘I REMEMBER MAMA’  in 1944.  As
for Brando’s casting in ‘STREETCAR,’ Williams recalled
that one day, while he was doing rewrites for the
play, he opened the screen door of his summer home to
find Brando there asking to play Stanley.  Williams
knew instantly that he had his Stanley Kowalski.  

On the surface, the play centers on the psychological
and physical conflicts between Blanche DuBois, a faded
Southern belle with a history of nymphomania and
alcoholism, and her sister Stella’s husband, Stanley
Kowalski, a thunderstorm of brutish sensuality.

‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ centers on many themes.  A
recurring topic is the conflict between reality and
fantasy.  Blanche does not want, "..what's real, but
what's magic."   Blanche's deception of others and
herself is not characterized by malicious intent, but
rather a heart-broken retreat to a romantic time
before disaster struck when her young husband was
revealed as being gay and subsequently committed
suicide.   

Another theme centers on the very title of the play. 
Blanche states, “They told me to take a streetcar
named Desire and then transfer to one called Cemetery
and ride six blocks and then get off at Elysian
Fields.  The streetcar and its route, which is a
reality in New Orleans history, does, in fact,
transport her on a ride of ultimate doom.
Interestingly, Williams played with many titles while
developing the play including:  ‘THE MOTH,’ ‘BLANCHE'S
CHAIR ON THE MOON,’ and  ‘THE POKER NIGHT,’ finally
settling on the one with the most symbolic meaning for
the core of the script.

In contrast to most American plays, ‘A STREETCAR NAMED
DESIRE’ is characterized by the absence of a male
protagonist imbued with heroic qualities.  Instead,
there is Stanley, who Blanche describes as a
"...survivor of the Stone Age."  She recounts his
uncivilized manners, demanding and forceful behavior,
lack of empathy, selfishness, and chauvinistic
attitude towards women.  Interestingly, Stanley is not
a villain, per se, but a symbol of the changing South
of the mid-20th century which included the destruction
of real or portrayed codes of chivalry for which the
old south was noted. 

Williams’ plays, including ‘STREETCAR,’ reflect his
life.  His mother never adjusted to being ripped out
of her southern home and being transported to the
North by a husband who had difficulty holding a job
and was often brutish.  Williams had an older sister
named Rose who was emotionally and mentally unstable. 
She was the model for the sister in ‘THE GLASS
MENAGERIE.’    Based on his mother and sister’s
fragility, many of his women characters find
themselves in societies that they don’t understand and
which don’t understand them.  This is another theme in
‘STREETCAR.’  

The loss of a lover also is part of Williams’ life. 
The death of his long-time life-partner Frank Merlo
sent Williams into a deep depression that lasted for
many years and resulted in drug and alcohol
dependency.

The Cleveland Play House production, under the
direction of Michael Bloom, succeeds on many levels,
yet gets off track on others.  

The play looks right in Todd Rosenthal’s French
Quarter New Orleans setting.

Kelly Mares (Stella), Lucas Caleb Rooney (Blanche’s
disillusioned suitor Mitch) and Starla Benford (the
Kowalski’s neighbor) all shine.  They develop clear
and consistent characterizations.   

Hollis Resnik has many outstanding moments as Blanche.
 Her slender body and vulnerable looks help create the
right illusion...a moth about to be extinguished by a
flame.  Many of her soliloquies are effectively
delusional.  However, her emotional break at the end
of play needed to be more clear and pathetic.  She
needed to wilt, to totally leave her ever-decreasing
world of reality.  Her face and voice failed to
emotionally wrench the audience as she stated one of
the theatre’s most powerful under-stated lines, “I’ve
always been dependent upon the kindness of strangers.”
 In addition, I can only assume, based on her talent,
that if Resnik had been playing opposite a more
proficient Stanley, a Stanley who engendered sexual
tension between them, her portrayal would have been
stronger.

Though he physically fit the role, Jason Paul Field
was unconvincing in his portrayal of Stanley.  This
was not the animalistic, sensual Stanley that
Williams’ wrote about.  It was all surface portrayal,
substituting yelling for emotional strength, with no
texturing. I must wonder, as I did earlier in the
season with the miscasting of the lead role in ‘ROOM
SERVICE,’ what criteria CPH is using for its casting
selections. 

Though it might seem like a minor point, Joshua John
McKay looked too old to portray the young collector
who Blanche attempts to seduce.  In a small, but
pivitol scene, we need to gain an insight into
Blanche’s desire for attractive young men, a desire
based on needing someone to replace her young lost
love.

Michael Lincoln’s lighting failed to create all the
right moods.  The dark shadows, the symbolism of
hidden desires and needs, and the feeling of New
Orleans’ heat were missing.   

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: ‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ was an
adequate production which should satisfy most audience
members.  However, this is one of the greatest
American dramas and should have been enthralling.   
Michael Bloom’s directing debut as the new Artistic
Director of the CPH was not all we could have hoped
for.  

For tickets to ‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ which runs
through February 5 in the  Drury Theatre  of the
Cleveland Play House call 216-795-7000 or go on-line
to www.clevelandplayhouse.com. 


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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