CONFIRMED: Mescal to bring Frecknall-helmed STREETCAR to New York- Page 11

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:38am

Two very different takes from NY Stage Review

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: A HEALTHY SHOT OF SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

By Melissa Rose Bernardo

★★★★☆ You want realism? You want magic? Rebecca Frecknall’s production, starring Paul Mescal, has both.

https://nystagereview.com/2025/03/11/a-streetcar-named-desire-a-healthy-shot-of-southern-discomfort/

 

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: OVERLY STYLIZED REVIVAL GOES OFF THE RAILS

By Frank Scheck

★★☆☆☆ Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran star in the Almeida Theatre production of Williams' classic, directed by Rebecca Frecknall

https://nystagereview.com/2025/03/11/a-streetcar-named-desire-overly-stylized-revival-goes-off-the-rails/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:41am

A- from Entertainment Weekly

A Streetcar Named Desire review: Paul Mescal is far from common

The "Normal People" star shows a very different side playing the role Marlon Brando first made famous.

https://ew.com/a-streetcar-named-desire-review-paul-mescal-far-from-common-11693721

 

NY Post ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ review: Paul Mescal sizzles, Patsy Ferran amazes in 4-star revival

https://nypost.com/2025/03/11/entertainment/a-streetcar-named-desire-review-paul-mescal-sizzles-patsy-ferran-amazes-in-4-star-revival/

 

Variety: ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Review: Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran Sparkle in the Tennessee Williams Classic 

https://variety.com/2025/legit/reviews/a-streetcar-named-desire-review-paul-mescal-1236334736/

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:42am

Daily Beast

Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran deliver ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ for the ages

https://www.thedailybeast.com/paul-mescal-triumphs-in-a-stunning-streetcar-named-desire/

 

Theatrely

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Perfectly Fit For Today — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/a-streetcar-named-desire-perfectly-fit-for-today-review

[walnutoraroach]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:52am

Slant Magazine

https://www.slantmagazine.com/theater/a-streetcar-named-desire-review-paul-mescal/

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:54am

Updated On: 3/12/25 at 12:54 AM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 1:36am

Damn, Sara Holdren continues to be the best critic we've got right now. She nails it EVERY time. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 7:25pm

Interview: Paul Mescal’s Last Trip on the Streetcar Named Desire - TheaterMania.com

 

https://www.theatermania.com/news/interview-paul-mescals-last-trip-on-the-streetcar-named-desire_1767196/

[Jesse St. James]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 10:14pm

any rumors of this coming to broadway?

[Voter]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 11:08pm

Mescal has films lined up. Highly unlikely.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 11:12pm

Jesse St. James said: "any rumors of this coming to broadway?"

It's not.  BAM run is the end - they just did their Encore run on West End before Brooklyn.

[Voter]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 1:46am

Has anyone here ever sat in the obstructed view seats at the Harvey Theater? Specifically center rear orchestra?? I'm trying to get a good sense of just how much I messed up.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 1:56am

Rear orchestra some of the aisle seats have columns that obstruct the view and very back of the rear orchestra has some overhang. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 2:18am

Voter said: "Has anyone here ever sat in the obstructed view seats at the Harvey Theater? Specifically center rear orchestra?? I'm trying to get a good sense of just how much I messed up."

 

Hey, at least you'll be there.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 10:25am

Ben Brantley: No American Drama Is as Haunted by Ghosts of Actors Past as ‘Streetcar’

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/theater/streetcar-named-desire-mescal-brando-leigh.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k4.8XCw.JpG87XMkdxGG&smid=nytcore-android-share

[Voter]

Posted: 3/13/25 at 5:05pm

I know about the columns from when I purchased, but while BAM gives you a virtual view from your seat when purchasing tickets, it appears many of the seats simply share the same view from my seat image and so won't be 100% accurate. I also did not find any pictures on View From My Seat from near enough to my allocated seat to accurately assess, so I'm just trying to gage exactly how bad it will be. If anyone is attending soon and would be kind enough to sneak a picture for me from one of my purchased seats I would be very appreciative, though I know it is a strange and annoying ask. Otherwise just having to hope someone will have shared an image on viewfrommyseat nearby by then.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 3:40pm

Paul Mescal and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Pull Into Brooklyn | Vanity Fair

 

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/paul-mescal-and-a-streetcar-named-desire-pull-into-brooklyn

[inception]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 7:44pm

What reasons would the producers have had to bring this to BAM instead of to Broadway?

[Kad]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 7:54pm

Mescal is an extremely in-demand film star and likely could not commit to a Broadway run?

Updated On: 3/14/25 at 07:54 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 8:02pm

I don't think that's what inception is asking--I'd imagine they are asking why it's feasible for a six week run at BAM, when shows do brief runs on Broadway (like Good Night and Good Lukc). 


I think the answer is that BAM is a non profit, and though I don't know the financial specifics, they have the infrastructure where they regularly bring in foreign productions for brief runs. I'm not sure if these are at all profitable (hence...non profit), but it seems to be the only way runs as short as this can be feasible. I imagine this production is not really being sought out as a commercially profitable venture for it's commercial co-producers, but an opportunity to expand their reach overseas.

If Mescal was willing to do a longer run (12+ weeks) it might have been a commercially viable option and they might have sought out a brief Broadway run. 

Updated On: 3/14/25 at 08:02 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 8:25pm

So tickets are now available at the BAM website, $250 minimum. Anyone seen this can say if it's worth the money? That's on the high end of what I've paid for theater.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 9:13pm

poisonivy2 said: "So tickets are now available at the BAM website, $250 minimum. Anyone seen this can say if it's worth the money? That's on the high end of what I've paid for theater."


It’s worth it. This production is a bit of an event and it’s one of the best plays ever written.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 9:21pm

Just bought a ticket for tomorrow night. Looking forward to this.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 3/14/25 at 9:45pm

I made it through the first half and then I fled. It's not bad and the actors are more than decent. For someone viewing the play for the first time I would even recommend it. You could do much worse.

But I hated the literalism of the production, everything hit on the nail with a literal percussionist banging all the important moments with a drum or a cymbal. Sprinklings of dopey movement, Lecoq inspired movement can add a tremendous layer to a production but here it just feels reductive. The ritual sacrifice of Blanche is what Frecknall cares about so that is what we get. And that is gripping and scary. Beyond that, no evenly matched bout between poetry and animal force. Poetry doesn't even get to show up for the fight. 

Updated On: 3/14/25 at 09:45 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 3/15/25 at 12:04am

That is so wild for me to read. I think I’ve seen like 5 or 6 productions of this show and thought it was as poetic as I’d ever seen it here. To each their own! 🤷🏻‍♀️

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 3/16/25 at 12:31am

Just back from Streetcar Named Desire at BAM. What I paid: $230 (bought last night). Just to be upfront because I know prices have been a topic.

What I loved: Patsy Ferran as Blanche. She really carried the entire show. She was extremely different from Vivien Leigh. Vivien was soft-spoken, fragile, winsome. Patsy was the opposite: neurotic, chatty, domineering, quite cruel, and most of all, ANNOYING. You could sense why even Stella found her sister aggravating. This Blanche was more aggressively alcoholic than I saw the character. She was constantly gulping alcohol.

Ferran cycled seamlessly between moments of absolute clarity with delusion. She cycled in and out so often that it became part of the fabric of the show: one moment Blanche could be dropping truth-bombs, another she would be completely lost in her own fabrications. Like when she was telling Stella what she thought about Stanley ... no lies detected. At those moments, her voice was clear and clipped and authoritative, like a female CEO. Other times, her voice trailed off as if she couldn't quite finish her own lies. Ultimately, she broke your heart.

What I liked: Eduardo Ackerman did an amazing job pinch-hitting as Mitch. He was kind, decent, sort of wimpy, until the second act and then he was just as bad as Stanley with the slut-shaming. I also liked Anjana Vasan as Stella. I thought Vasan and Ferran captured the complicated sister dynamic well.

What I disliked: I hate to say it, because he's one of my favorite actors, but Paul Mescal as Stanley was a massive disappointment. First of all, his accent was hilariously bad and he kept slipping in and out of it. But more, despite the sledgehammer "STANLEY IS A BAD MAN" drums, you never sensed the charm or sexual magnetism that would make Stella willing to endure beatings and other abuse. He kind of faded into the background. I suppose it is hard to top Marlon Brando's legendary performance, but I was just expecting more from Mescal.

I was mixed about the production. Very minimalist, with only a raised platform and some props. I kept thinking that one partition that separated the two rooms at the Kowalskis would have given the production a much better sense of spacing. But I found the constant loud drum music and scenes being cut with interpretive modern dance to be just to ... idk, on the nose? It was as if Rebecca Frecknall didn't trust the drama and tension to organically happen, and was like "LOOK HERE, STANLEY IS BAD!" or "LOOK HERE! BLANCHE IS HAVING A BREAKDOWN!"

But overall, I thought it was worth the price I paid, definitely worth seeing Patsy Ferran's performance.