A Streetcar Named Desire at SART
Many Tennessee Williams plays are famously long, somber, yet rewarding affairs. But in Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, various factors keep the payoffs at a distance and mute the show’s numerous assets.
Staged in the company's James Thomas Black Box Theatre (instead of the much larger adjoining Owen Theatre) under the direction of William Tyler Ezzell, the classic New Orleans-set tale of powder-keg Stanley Kowalski (Dave Stishan), his wife Stella (Abigail Williams), and her visiting sister Blanche DuBois (Amanda Ladd) is faithfully delivered though frequently hamstrung by the small room. Seemingly intended to heighten the material’s intensity via increased proximity, the borderline claustrophobic confines produce confusing results, barely giving the talented cast enough room to operate and often obscuring key bits of dialogue.
Occupying much of production engineer Carew Henry’s impressive second level balcony, a six-piece jazz band drowns out conversations on multiple occasions, forcing actors to shout (which doesn't help much). While the music is an excellent place- and mood-setter during transitions or when characters aren’t talking, it clashes horrifically when they are speaking, and important information regarding Blanche’s checkered past, mental illness, and alcoholism — and their impact on those around her — is lost in the process. Volume and clarity is likewise problematic whenever performers shift to the apartment’s back rooms, rendering them nearly invisible behind non-sheer curtains.
Fortunately, the large majority of lines are delivered in the front room, albeit sometimes too close for comfort. The absence of walls in this space laudably engages one's imagination, forcing audience members to picture these barriers and the sidewalks on which a handful of colorful street characters roam. But the combination of imaginary enclosures and a make-believe mirror on the room’s vanity means Stella and Blanche are awkwardly looking directly at the stage left audience whenever they’re there. No walls also resulted in Stishan nearly hitting a stage right theatergoer with pasta on opening night during Stanley’s supper tantrum and getting practically in attendees’ laps on the other side during his iconic “Stella!!!” meltdown.
However, these technical difficulties and the endurance-test nature of the first two acts running without pause can’t obscure the immense gifts of this ensemble — particularly the core quartet, rounded out by one of WNC’s most reliable actors, Daniel Henry, as Stanley’s best friend and Blanche suitor, Mitch. Though minimal sexual tension exists between Stishan’s Stanley and Ladd’s Blanche, making their overall arc tough to buy, there’s almost a surplus of erotic chemistry between him and Williams’ Stella, which grants the spouses’ shared scenes an extra layer of intrigue. SART mainstay Ladd gets her hooks in elsewhere, masterfully handling Blanche’s descent into nervous breakdown and nailing the iconic part’s deep tragedy — a sense amplified by Williams’ palpable love for her troubled sibling.
There’s a reason — hell, probably 20 — why A Streetcar Named Desire keeps getting revived on major stages around the world and likely will continue being staged in perpetuity. Even though SART’s staging doesn’t quite work in its black box theater, Ezzell’s vision is bold and distinct, and Tennessee Williams’ play hopefully won’t be the last entry in the theatrical canon to be reimagined in this space.
A Streetcar Named Desire runs through June 22 at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre’s James Thomas Black Box Theatre in Mars Hill. For details and tickets, visit SARTPlays.com.
(Photo courtesy of SART)
