MEF's Review of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
MEF's Review of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
#0MEF's Review of "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Posted: 4/2/05 at 10:01am
This year's Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play seems like it is getting harder to call every day. First, everybody seemed certain that Cherry Jones would win for her brilliant performance in "Doubt". Then along came Kathleen Turner, who put a galvanizing spin on Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" And now we have Natasha Richardson, who is giving the performance of her career in Edward Hall's tight, incredible production of "A Streetcar Named Desire," a Roundabout production at Studio 54.
Blanche DuBois is a role that is different with every actress who plays it. Jessica Lange exuded raw sexuality ten years ago on Broadway. Patricia Clarkson injected her performance with pathos and pain last year in DC. Ms. Richardson's Blanche is a combination of the both. She is in her early forties, but doesn't look a day over 25. Her beauty makes her Blanche even more beautiful.
She plays Blanche opposite John C. Reilly, the acclaimed Academy Award nominated actor whom everybody thought would be perfect...for Mitch. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have doubts about him in the role. Let me just say how happy I am that I can say that my doubts were totally wrong. He is a scary, brooding Stanley, who fully inhabits the role. He should be nominated for a Tony for his performance.
Amy Ryan is no stranger to Stella. She played the role last year opposite Ms. Clarkson, and is now back, direct from a run at Playwrights Horizons in Chris Shinn's "On the Mountain". She has not lost any of her passion or grace. She is one of the best Stellas I have ever seen (the best being Essie Davis).
Chris Bauer plays Mitch, a sweet, good-hearted man that gives Blanche all the love he has in his heart. Mr. Bauer really comes off well in this role. He should also be receiving a Tony nomination.
The production itself is gorgeous, and makes good use of the Studio 54 space. Edward Hall, the son of Sir Peter Hall, really proves himself as an amazing interpreter of the classic.
Get yourself to Studio 54 to see this beautiful production. It is not to be missed!
#1re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 10:08amA GREAT review MEF!!! thanks........I love STREETCAR, I think it is Williams' best play.
GovernorSlaton
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/14/04
#2re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 10:17amVery good to hear, especially about Reilly. :)
#3re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 10:17amThanks, WISH. It's my favorite play by Williams, too.
#4re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 10:26amYeah, I was glad that Mr. Reilly was working well in the role.
KindnessofStrangers
Stand-by Joined: 2/11/05
#5re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 12:22pmWas there any sexual chemistry/tension between Richardson and Reilly? Does Reilly take his shirt off? How did the audience react?
Thesbijean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/9/04
#7re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 12:46pmThe chemistry between Ms. Richardson and Mr. Reilly is quite good. Lots of tension. You could cut it with a knife. And he does go shirtless.
#8re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:04pm
It'so funny how one play could get so many different reviews and reactions. I read, on this board just a few days ago, how bad this production was, and how wrong Natasha and John were for their roles, and how poorly they were performing them. That made me sad because I've been looking forward to this play. It's one of my favorites, and I'm glad to read some positive.
-Vincent
Matt_G
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
#9re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:05pmI'm glad, also. I hope it keeps improving as time goes by.
#10re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:06pmThanks! I reaaaaally want to see this. I've tried twice and failed miserably. I will see it... eventually.
#11re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:07pmToo bad your performance got cancelled, Emcee. Just keep trying! I think they do a student rush.
#12re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:08pm
Not just that! I knew someone who thought they had an extra ticket that I was this close to taking... then they found out that they didn't really have it. Streetcar and I were just not meant to be. 
*marches to student rush line*
#13re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:10pmWell, at least you got to see DESSA ROSE. That's good, right?
#14re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:13pmI had one of those "it was good, but..." experiences with Dessa Rose. I have to review it for a class, and have a big bunch of hand-written notes still sitting on my desk. I keep meaning to post my thoughts so I can turn that into my "real" review, but for some reason I'm having a hard time reviewing this one. I think I'll take a good stab at it later.
#16re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:17pm
DAMMIT!
I have been looking foward to seeing this since they announced it a long, long, long time ago. And now I am poor and not at home.
Natasha is such a great actress.
#17re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:25pm
"Natasha is such a great actress."
She really is. And so damn versatile!
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#18re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:34pm
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? :)
#19re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 1:36pmYes, I will post a full review of "Dessa" some time tomorrow.
#20re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 4:53pm
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.
#21re: MEF's Review of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Posted: 4/2/05 at 4:55pm
"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."
My sentiments exactly. She is a ravishing Blanche.
Auggie27
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
#22a "Streetcar" that is both traditional and ground-breaking
Posted: 4/3/05 at 10:20am
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.
#23a 'Streetcar' that is both traditional and ground-breaking
Posted: 4/3/05 at 10:28am
Why are there so many shows I need to see?
I should start up a Send-JillyFish-Money thing like John Hill did. Or maybe, I'll just start going on a lot of dates with BWW members, and could go see a show...
ruprecht
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/16/05
#24a 'Streetcar' that is both traditional and ground-breaking
Posted: 4/3/05 at 10:53amInteresting! Is it hard to get tickets?
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