A Streetcar Named Desire

This ride isn’t for the faint of heart. The bare-bones, brutal production of A Streetcar Named Desire, currently in performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater, is an unapologetic, harsh picture of deception and domestic violence, at their respective best and worst.Starring a ghostly Cate Blanchett as Blance DuBois, this Streetcar wastes no time in getting right to business. From the first moment she appears onstage, it is apparent that this Blanche is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Dressed in white and with skin pallor to match, she is visibly shaken, trembling frantically and desperately attempting to hide it. She contrasts starkly with the lush, sensual Stella (Robin McLeavy) and Stella’s husband Stanley (Joel Edgerton), a brutal personification of everything Blanche abhors and yet is fascinated by as well.Staged on a dingy set inspired by Edward Hopper painting, this production of Tennessee William’s play is not pretty. There is no hint of the charm of New Orleans, no beautiful architecture or hints of balmy Southern warmth. Under the helm of Liv Ullmann, making her directorial debut, this production is a harsh portrayal of a dirty, sweaty world where the men possess all the power and the liquor named Southern Comfort does not provide what its name promises. This isn’t the genteel old South where mint juleps are sipped by men wearing seersucker. Instead, whiskey is gulped by grease-smudged clad in sweaty t-shirts – if they are wearing any shirts at all.This world is a shock to Blanche, who, as she frequently mentions, suffers from nerves that require countless hot baths to be soothed. She also suffers from alcoholism, something she tries desperately, but fails, to hide from her sister and brother-in-law. As the three co-habitate in the claustrophobic apartment it becomes increasingly obvious that conflict – or, as Stanley calls it – the “date” between Stanley and Blanche – is inevitable and the actors and the audience are speeding towards it, try as they might to stop it.And oh, does Blanche try. She tries, and it is her desperate trying and Blanchett’s almost painful portrayal of that trying, that makes this Blanche the center of the show, a sympathetic, yet strong, character that audience members can feel pity for and even relate to. Even when witnessing her awkward flirtation with a young boy collecting donations, one is inspired to feel protective of her. This Blanche knows she is close to rock bottom, but she is going to do whatever she can to avoid it, whether she has to lie to everyone she knows, including herself, or grasp at the threads of a forced relationship with Mitch, humbly played by Tim Richards.It is difficult to tear one’s eyes away from Blanchett when she is onstage, but she is joined by a stellar cast of supporting members, including McLeavy as Stella and Edgerton as Stanley. Immortalized on film by the electric Marlon Brando, the role of Stanley requires the actor playing it to possess fierce energy and brutality, as well as a toned upper body as Stanley spends many scenes in the play shirtless, much to Blanche’s fluttering dismay. Edgerton's Stanley has all that, and then some, as he also gives the role some childlike vivaciousness and joy, as well as a palpable chemistry between him and McLeavy’s Stella. The infamous scene of Stanley desperately pleading for Stella to return to their apartment is a painfully accurate depiction of drunken hysteria, and yet, when the two do reconcile, one can almost understand why. Stanley isn't merely a drunk brute; he also exhibits a childlike confusion and need for someone to care for him. One can imagine what the relationship between Stanley and Stella was like before Blanche arrived.In sharp contrast to Blanche’s refusal to be seen in bright light, little is left to the imagination in this production. After Stanley’s assault of Stella, he is shown sleeping, lying naked in bed while she sits, motionless and clothed, on the edge.“A woman’s charm is 50 percent illusion,” Blanche states while lamenting the loss of her youth and looks. Despite all the shadows onstage, nothing happening in this rich, unforgettable show is illusion. It’s all real.