MEF's Review of "A Streetcar Named Desire"

I admit, I kind of skimmed until I saw the word "Reilly" and read from there. Good to know preconceptions aren't keeping him from putting in a good performance.

You're going to post your Dessa review as well, right? :)

MEF-

I'm so happy that you loved this production. I saw it on Wednesday and couldn't take my eyes off the stage. Richardson was outstanding, and fully deserves a Tony nomination.

Saw it yesterday afternoon. I was mesmerized, and ultimately deeply moved. To me, this production is a rare combination -- a traditional exploration of the piece and at the same time, a radical new approach, all due to the casting of Reilly.

The world of Williams' New Orleans in the late 40s is beautifully captured, in set, lighting (especially) and effects that artfully suggest the omnipresent trains and rich, intrusive Quarter night life just beyond Elysian Fields. I've never seen the subsidiary players so well employed. Eunice, sometimes a caricature, is our way into this piece of the South, the first woman Blanche meets we meet as well. Kristin Nielson is terrific.

Also solidly, most positively in the traditional corner -- but making the role very much her own -- is the breathtaking Richardson. I think most of us bought our tickets to see her, and this performance, even this early, does not disappoint. She starts if not tentatively, a bit more subdued and distracted than some Blanches. But with the "I took the blows!" speech she nails the tightly wound center. Her flashes of anger and dry wit are uniquely her own -- she finds irony in Blanche's view of Stella's tawdry trappings, and cleverly underplays what is sometimes breathy hysteria. While never missing the big, emotional crescendos.

As Blanche 'loses' in the story, Richardson shows us how her own sense of ridiculous, her wit, fail her. She has so many heartbreaking moments -- they mount steadily until the first act finish, the aria-llike recitation of her marriage and the tragic end. It's stunningly acted -- so full of deep REGRET as much as pain - and framed by Hall's staging/lighting and audio flashback elements. By the time Blanche is reduced to the woman who must depend on the kindness of stangers, so afraid to pass the card players, Richardson has us weeping. For the first time, I couldnn't stop thinking about how this woman would manage once she realizes where there taking her. I worried so about the rest of Blanche's life. It's a shattering performance, the best kind, because you leave thinking about BLANCHE, not Natasha.

I left still on the fence about Reilly. Not the performance, which is strong, confident, and commanding. But -- still -- the decision to cast him. Early on, we must make the adjustments in our heads. Becauase the role is iconic, so identified with male musculature and "a look", the adjustment is big. (Yes, REilly has lost a lot of weight --this is NOT a fat Stanley..) But the play's power -- and Reilly's command -- join forces. By the time of the poker game scene, and the "Stella!" moment, I was able to put that aside.

On the positive side: what his casting does is remove the element of romantic/sexual fantasy from the relationship withh Blanche. When she says, early on, "I knew he would be my executioner!" it has dark literal ring to it. This man truly is -- he's a force of nature that takes over Stella's life, requiring constant compromise for a kind of domestic life neither sister ever imagined. Stella loves this Stanley because he truly is a 180 from "the boys we dated back home." A pragmatist, a man who splinters the Old South and its monied gentility for a new world order. And Blanche fears him because -- well, he's scary as hell. So when Stanley goes after Blanche, it's the darkest of dark -- there is no sense of sexual tension being played out. This "executioner" assaults her with abject brutality, using his position of power in his own house as cruely as is possible. Here, there is no doubt -- this is an ugly, violent turn in the story, and he executes the fragile Blanche, using his own carnality and rage as his weapon. When he whispers, "we've had this date from the beginning.." we're almost in William Mastrosimone'EXTREMETIES. There is no romantic or sexual subtext, only a prelude to an act of soul-shattering betrayal.

What this does, then, is make Blanche's journey more clearly about the opportunity that is Mitch -- and powerfully, startlingly -- makes the scene with the newspaper collection boy one of the play's focal points. Her past in Laurel is dramatized by the temptation in going for this boy; her possible future in New Orleans is salvation with Mitch. Her force of antagonism is the new "blood" in her sister's life ... this man named Stanley.

So as I wrestle with my own reactions, I can stand back and see the production as one with tradeoffs. We may have to give up our own sexual fantasies about Stanley -- but we perhaps get a darker, even deeper view of Blanche's tragic spiral. The bottom line is: it's not to be missed.

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Interesting! Is it hard to get tickets?