Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Theater Review: A Streetcar Named Desire

Blair Underwood, Nicole Ari Parker, Daphne Rubin-Vega. Photo: Ken Howard
An Interesting Take on Blanche, but Not Much Flames Our Desire Here
By Lauren Yarger
Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire has been a vehicle for noted performances by Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Novak, Rosemary Harris, Frances McDormand, Tallulah Bankhead, Blythe Danner, Natasha Richardson, Alec Baldwin, Vivien Leigh and Jessica Lange among others in various stage and film versions of the 1948 Pulitzer-Prize winner.

The latest Broadway revival, directed by McCarter Theater Center Artistic Director Emily Mann, features Blair Underwood heading a multi-cultural cast as struggling working-class stiff Stanley Kowalski. There is some jazz music composed by Terrance Blanchard, some rhythm-moving segues between scenes and a more sympathetic take on Blanche, Stanley's troubled, mentally unbalanced sister-in-law played nicely by Nicole Ari Parker (TV's "Soul Food").

None of that, however, is enough to erase the fact that this is a rather slow-moving bummer of a story about a bunch of whacked out people. They might have been groundbreaking back in 1948 (Williams' original reason for the breakup of Blanche's marriage -- the homosexuality of her husband -- was still too controversial in 1951 to make it past the film's censors), but in 2012, when soft porn is the norm in movies and television, we need something more than that or Blanche's secret past of promiscuity to get our attention. The only interest I witnessed here, however, was an audible rumble of approval from the women in the audience when Underwood removed his T-shirt.

It's hard to feel sympathetic for any of these characters: Stanley is the cruel husband, driven by a sexuality that makes him attractive to wife Stella (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Blanche's sister. Stella puts up with Stanley and his physical abuse because of this compelling attraction. She longs for his embrace while he's on the road working and doesn't even like it when he leaves their poverty-evident two-room apartment (Eugene Lee designs the set and Paul Tazewell designs some beautiful dresses for Blanche). Stella also subjects herself to verbal abuse from her hot-house flower relic-of-the-old-South sister who shows up broke on the Kowalskis' beneath-her-refined-taste doorstep when she loses the family's estate and has nowhere else to go. Blanche hopes that Stanley's naive and gentlemanly friend, Mitch (a wonderfully charming Wood Harris, known to TV fans of "The Wire"), will marry her and give her another chance at life, but her past might come back to haunt her, especially if her cruel brother-in-law has his way.

The problem with this production is that everything just mentioned is from what is supposed to be the story of Streetcar. What really happens is that Underwood comes across as too nice. We simply don't buy him for the vindictive, abusive Stanley. There absolutely is no chemistry between him and Rubin-Vega to justify the sexual attraction that is supposed to bind them together. In fact, Rubin-Vega comes across as the dominant one. Stanley might be stronger physically (to which those sighing women can attest after seeing those abs and pecs), but Stella's on top emotionally and that makes us question even more why she stays in the relationship or doesn't use her smarts to straighten out Blanche.

Parker's approach to a more sympathetic Blanche makes us like Stanley and Stella even less as Blanche appears more the victim of mental illness than of her own circumstances. In the end, the only one we might feel a little sympathy for is Mitch, and he's just too naive. It's a play that probably has lived out its importance and interesting casting choices aren't likely to change that. Amelia Campbell is a bit over the top as the couple's landlord, Eunice. Rounding out the ensemble of minor characters is Carmen de Lavallade, Matthew Saldivar, Jacinto Taras Riddick, Count Stovall, Rosa Evangelina Arredondo and Aaron Clifton Moten (who does a nice turn as a young newsboy overwhelmed by Blanche's sexual charms).

Streetcar runs the track at The Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th St., NYC through July 22. Tickets: 212-239-6200/800-432-7250.

Christians might also like to know:
-- Violence
-- Rape
-- God's name taken in vain
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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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