Will Almedia Streetcar Transfer to Broadway? — Page 2

Play Esq. said: "Everything I’ve read about this production isPaul Mescal. If it comes over, it needs to be with him. You throw in a different and, perhaps, better known star then you have a different production. "

The advertising and hype of this production have definitely been focused a lot around Paul Mescal, but as someone who saw it at the Almeida (not knowing who Paul Mescal was ahead of time) I think it would be hard to argue that he’s essential to the show itself. He was undeniably great in the role, but it didn’t feel singular in any way. Granted this is the only production of Streetcar I’ve seen, but I think it would be perfectly worthwhile to see even without him. If anything, name recognition aside, I’d be more insistent on Patsy Ferran transferring (ironically since she’s the only of the 3 leads not to win this years Olivier award, and she was a last minute replacement).

Dylan Smith4 said: "So if Paul can't come to New York with this production, if it transfers, who could play this role? I suggested two VERY unlikely names. Realistically though, who could play this role and sell out houses?"

Highly doubt this will be coming as Paul's film career is busy.

https://deadline.com/2023/05/jessie-buckley-paul-mescal-hamnet-adaptation-amblin-partners-chloe-zhao-1235352146/

Synecdoche2 said: "Please no more British revivals of American plays on Broadway."

Narrow minded much?

Dylan Smith4 said: "So if Paul can't come to New York with this production, if it transfers, who could play this role? I suggested two VERY unlikely names. Realistically though, who could play this role and sell out houses?"

If it was 20 years ago I'd suggest Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale (not that he does stage work). Who is a bit younger and can come across as a scary aggressive dumb alpha? Robert Pattinson maybe if he can find that darkness. idk.

OMG YES. Obviously. He would be perfect.

I thought the transfer was taking place without Mescal but Jake Gylenhaal was being courted to replace him in NY.

I saw the final performance tonight. First off, I wasn't able to get any insight into the future of the show, sorry.

That said, I'm hard pressed to imagine why this would need to transfer anywhere. I'm of such mixed minds about what I saw tonight. Obviously I'm speaking only for myself but this production is all about Mescal. Nothing else really worked for me. I'd go as far as give this 4 stars but based SOLELY on him (more on him in a minute). The production reminded me of "A Doll's House", but with a few props. No set, just a bare stage with some chairs that are sometimes used for different things and a suitcase with some props inside. And I've said before that I'm getting pretty tired of these bare bones stagings of plays. I truly find they hardly ever add anything to the text or enhance anything in a play whatsoever and I truly do believe that.

Anjana Vasan and Dwane Walcott were fine as Stella and Mitch but it was Patsy Ferran who, to me, gave one of the most confusing and miscast performances I think I've ever seen. Her accent was completely schizophrenic, skipping back and forth between standard American, Texan, some Georgia and maybe up near West Virginia in points but I don't think ever once did she come close to anywhere near Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama - anywhere around there. In fact she spent most of the play dropping a "southern" accent all together and just sounded like she was from Anytown USA. Is Patsy American? Because if she isn't then she got that accent down very well. A friend described her portrayal as a school marm which I'd agree with but a very young school marm - too young for Blanche. Just really nothing about her worked for me tonight which shocked me after everything I'd heard. Because I never believed her Blanche for one second and I feel like even though she's crazy you have to buy into her delusions in order for her to work and with Patsy, I just never did.

As for Mescal. Holy hell. I have a feeling since this was the last show he kind of went all-out because he was absolutely TERRIFYING at times. Stanley is, undoubtedly, one of the hardest characters in theater to get right. There's so many things you have to have and do for him to work. You have to be sexy (I've seen it done with a plain Stanley and it doesn't work) but that early Brando sexy where you walk in a room and it lights on fire because you're so hot. He's also got to be cruel and mean and all the while, loving to Stella and make you understand why they're together and she loves him. And Mescal just nails it. He is to Stanley as Cate Blanchett was to Blanche, the best I've ever seen and I can't imagine seeing anyone better than him in the role anytime soon - God, what I'd give to see the two of them do this together. Automatic placement in best acting performances I've ever seen on a stage.



But yeah, I'd love a transfer of this play. It is and will always be one of my top 3 favorite plays ever written. But this specific production doesn't need to come to Broadway. Bring Mescal over in a different production of it and then it would be worth having.

I haven't seen another production (shamefully) so I don't really know how it works otherwise, but the other thing that I thought really added to the tension of the whole thing was the music and the drummer...I'm having flashbacks to Mescal kind of menacingly and threateningly running around the stage with that drum roll and it's giving me shivers. Would it really work as well without the music? (i.e. is the production at least adding SOMETHING to his performance)?

To me Ferran was the best part too. I've seen so many approach Blanche as entitled and deluded that I really felt for her.

Mescal was ok.

For me Ferran was the star of the thing. Absolutely astonishing, she performs it with a sensitivity that others before her too often abandon (only Rachel Weisz had not). Mescal was as expected. Felt like one of those performances where the only way it has grown throughout the run is by adding more shouting. Also believe that Stanley is not that hard a part to play, absolutely nothing when compared to the challenge of Blanche. I'm thinking of Johnny Flynn, he popped into my head because of Motive and the Cue, and he can essentially take 85% was doing in him film Beast and make an excellent Stanley. If like Ferran, there's an obvious type of casting that is not looked for, there are a lot of actors I'd like to see take on the role.

Updated On: 5/7/23 at 05:27 AM

Patsy's performance kind of reminds me a little bit of how I felt about Jessie Buckley in Cabaret (same Director) - I'm not sure if they are the right choices, and I don't know if it always works - but I was never bored and I couldn't keep my eyes off her the whole time. I thought there was a lot more complexity under the surface of her character than Paul Mescal's character.