We’re jolted awake, and into an alternate reality as soon as we take our seats at Island City Stage in Wilton Manors. That loud crashing sound (could it be coming from the train tracks on Dixie Highway?). But then there are clangs and whistles and, ah yes, we realize we are here to see New City Players’ (NCP) production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. And while ten minutes remain till showtime, we’re already immersed in the world of 1947 New Orleans’ French Quarter. Where a trio of women sit languidly fanning themselves onstage or burst into jazz songs and dance. Meanwhile, the sporadic rumble of the loud streetcar will continue, along with musical interludes, to punctuate the drama or breaks between scenes.
Such striking sound effects by NCP’s sound designer Ernesto K. Gonzalez and singing interludes by local singer/songwriter/actresses Inez Barlatier and Sheena O. Murray (who play neighbors Edna Jean/(and Nurse) and Eunice Hubbell) are but one example of how the play’s director Stuart Meltzer (renowned artistic director of Miami’s Zoetic Stage) and the NCP team have put a fresh musical face on what’s been called America’s most important play of all time, and the playwright’s most produced. While strictly adhering to Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer-prize winning script (you don’t mess with the best) – or, as Meltzer reflects, “That pedigree came in large part to Mr. Williams’ eloquent, symbolic and naturalistic writing of flawed characters dripping with sexuality.” The master playwright is also a particular favorite of NCP’s producing artistic director Tim Davis who’d featured Williams’ second most famous classic, “The Glass Menagerie,” at the company’s first season in 2016.
If you’ve been following New City Players for a while, as I have, you already know that anything they touch turns to gold (with shiny surprise additions), and their ensemble actors are among the most talented anywhere in the country. Soon as I saw their flyer featuring associate artistic director Elizabeth Price as Blanche DuBois, I knew this was “must-see theater.” And now that I’ve seen her extraordinary performance, which often left me breathless, all I can say is that she will forever remain THE Blanche of my imagination and deserves every possible local award. (Including the film version’s Oscar awarded to Vivien Leigh.) Her character may have been thwarted in her fantastical dreams of a brighter future, but at least in our world, and our time, Price’s “number one bucket list role” became a reality. And we are all the richer for it.
As for the now-buff Timothy Mark Davis in the part of Stanley Kowalski, all I can say is “Wow! He did it again!” Davis even managed to usurp film icon Marlon Brando’s memory with his fiercely loud, passionate, often brutal yet also painfully vulnerable rendition. Fellow NCP member Casey Sacco was the perfect choice to play his hopelessly in love, young wife Stella, whose subservient role of protecting and caring for the needs of others is obvious in how she relates to older sister, Blanche, her neighbors, and, of course, her volatile PTSD-stricken man. Loving both her husband and sister, she navigates the impossible task of keeping the peace between these two – who have nothing but trauma and alcoholic self-medication in common – with as much grace and inner strength as she can muster. Luckily, she finds understanding and support in her upstairs landlady (Eunice) and neighbor (Edna Jean) who live with, and love, similarly challenging spouses.
Williams wrote the play at the end of World War II and it was produced two years later. He observed how soldiers coming home from combat were suddenly faced with a different, expanding world – boom times that held both promise and inequity. High ranking officers like Master Sergeant Kowalski and his poker- and bowling-night veteran pals are back to being treated as ordinary citizens (and in Stanley’s case, as the “coarse” uneducated working class). Only those who’ve served together can really “get” and accept one another, flaws and all.
So when Stanley has what we soon discover is a regularly occurring violent breakdown, his vet pals know just how to restrain him, then shove him under a cold shower till he no longer “sees red” and comes back to himself. Nowadays, he would be treated by a psychiatrist for severe PTSD, but in his era it’s up to his friends and wife to apply salve to his demons. But what if they’re not around? Therein lies the shocker at end of this story.
Stanley’s pals are well-played by NCP ensemble member Alex Joyel (who doubles as a Young Collector for the local newspaper), Russell Kerr as Eunice’s husband Steve Hubbell, and primarily by Jesus Reyna, who provides a finely nuanced rendition of Harold Mitchell or “Mitch,” Blanche’s latest imagined savior. We also enjoy frequent loud appearances by Juan Gamero as Carlos, the flower vendor, who completely reinvents himself for the role of the Doctor at the end of Act II.
If you recall the play or film version, most of the drama revolves around the sudden appearance of Stella’s uppity, older sister Blanche who comes for a visit (and extended stay) at the meager Kowalski two-room flat when she’s run out of options and means of support. Her parents and relatives have died in rapid succession and she’s lost what was left of their Laurel, Mississippi, plantation estate – the Belle Reve manor house – along with her high school English teaching job (though she falsely claims she’s only on a leave of absence to deal with her nerves). Stella knows Blanche looks down on her husband and would not approve of their shabby apartment or neighborhood, so has embellished her circumstances in her letters, leaving Blanche shocked when the streetcar named Desire stops at her destination. Stella’s not home and when her upstairs landlady (and friend) Eunice tries to help and lets her into her sister’s apartment, her Southern belle self-absorption comes across as rude.
She’s rude and critical when her loving sister eagerly welcomes her as well. And despite her diminished circumstances, continues to play the role of delicately flirtatious and genteel Lady of the Manor, expecting everyone in the Kowalski household to kowtow to her every whim – from delivering drinks to patiently waiting to use their only bathroom while she soaks in the tub for hours to “calm her nerves.” Like most ordinary people – but especially those who’ve experienced war and societal disruptions – Williams’ characters are flawed but relatable, and harbor hopeful redeeming qualities. We can get angry at their behavior, maybe recognize it all too well, but also sympathize and can’t help rooting for their redemption. When someone once asked the playwright why he always wrote about sad people, his answer was that he just wrote about people, as he sees them.
But of course, he would relate to those with interior struggles, as the play’s dramaturg Ali Tallman points out in her playbill note: “Tennessee Williams knew intimately about the hunger a person can have. He was the son of an abusive, alcoholic, homophobic shoe salesman and a doting, deeply unhappy religious mother … He spent his life trying to rebel against these circumstances, to survive them with grace, while finding himself again and again with his own addictions, abusive partners, and mental illness.” Here I’ll add, definitely check out Tallman’s beautifully designed hardcover scrapbook filled with photos of the play’s locales and time period, on display in the lobby.
Most of us have seen the film, if not the play, but often many years ago. We change who we are through the decades and I must say while I was moved by the movie long ago, and key parts stayed with me, NCP’s production was a revelation. I found new appreciation for all of Tennessee Williams’ nuances and, especially, for how his words came to vivid, believable life through the actors’ astounding performances that will never be forgotten. While the play is set very much in its time and place, not all that much has changed. Are returning veterans routinely helped and respected for their service these days? We might recognize PTSD but lasting military traumas, both physical and psychological, often require years of fighting for necessary treatment.
As far as perceptions of “upper” versus “lower” classes in wealth and education, we seem to be growing further apart by the minute. With less tolerance and attempts at understanding, or helping hands to improve conditions of “the other.” The world of “Streetcar” contains a powder keg of emotions, but also lots of love and support. Even, ironically, the succor of “the kindness of strangers.” I suggest everyone see NCP’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” as the ultimate example of the company’s mission to “create community through transformative theater.” At the very least, the play will transform how you see this greatest work by what many consider America’s greatest playwright. But it can also transform how you see yourself, others, and your place in society.
In keeping with their community-building directive, each weekend performance features special audience-participation extras. (Warning: It might be hard to choose just one!)
Jazzy Fridays! Join cast members for live jazz performances by Broward College musicians (I’ve heard them perform at Bailey Hall, they’re terrific!), while sipping on complimentary libations. Bringing Bourbon Street vibes to South Florida.
Saturday Spirits! After every Saturday show, relax with custom-crafted “Streetcar”-themed cocktails. Who can resist Blanche’s Desire, Stanley’s Shot, Stella’s Sidecar, or Mitch’s Mocktail?
Sunday TalkBacks! Dive deeper into the play’s themes and history and learn about the theater-making process by joining the cast and crew for an engaging and interactive talkback.
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