Who knew Tennessee Williams was one
of America ’s
major comedic playwrights?
Comedy? Yes. Well, if comedy is
measured by audience laughter then Williams is right up there with Woody Allen
and Neil Simon, at least based upon the audience response to Yale Repertory
Theatre’s current offering of Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a
strong production, gripping and moving, with some stellar acting, but on
opening night most of the play’s first act was punctuated by (perhaps knowing...or
unknowing) laughter by those in attendance. The laughter took me back a bit.
What’s funny about a woman on the brink of despair desperately searching for a
drink? What’s humorous about a woman, a fragile butterfly, (Williams describes
her as “a moth”) who must fantasize, lie to herself and the world, to keep a
shaky hold on reality? And yet laughter there was. I don’t know if director
Mark Rucker and his cast worked to generate the laughs: if they did, then they
succeeded, if they didn’t then the guffaws must have been a bit of a shock to
those on stage (i.e., What the hell is going on? We’re setting up a modern
tragedy here and people are chuckling?)
Joe Manganiello in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Audience reaction aside, this is a
fine production of a modern American classic. For those not familiar with the
story, Stella (Sarah Sokolovic) has married an ex-G.I., Stanley Kowalski (Joe
Manganiello), and is now, circa 1947, living happily in somewhat downtrodden
circumstances in New Orleans, but there was a time when Stella lived a more
refined life, and she is reminded of this when her sister, Blanche (René
Augesen) arrives for an extended visit. Unfortunately, Blanche arrives with a
past haunted by more than the loss of the family plantation. Death continually
whispers in her ear, speaking of the suicide of her young husband and the
subsequent demise of her relatives, all of which she has had to deal with on
her own. She desperately clings to sanity, but she has unwittingly traveled on
a streetcar named Desire (read multiple meanings here) to meet her ultimate
nemesis, for Stanley ,
sensing that Blanche is a threat to his marriage and his essence as Ur-male,
soon sets out to destroy her. This he accomplishes in a chilling third act, as
Blanche is ultimately carted off to a sanitarium, still relying on the kindness
of strangers.
Central to the success of any
production of “Streetcar” is the actor who portrays Blanche, and in Augesen the
Rep gives us the epitome of the fragile, faded beauty Williams created, for
Augesen’s Blanche is tremulous, proud, articulate and desperate. This Blanche
is a sensuous lady who has been damned by her own sensuality, a strong yet
fragile creature who continuously seeks the “magic” in life that has been
denied her ever since she inadvertently caused the death of her young husband.
Augesen’s body language enhances the idea that this is a woman on the brink:
her hands flutter about as if they are caged birds, her body stiffens, her head
jerks as if she is hearing voices. Hiding from the light (of day and reality),
this Blanche seems doomed from the moment she tentatively walks on stage, only
steps away from damnation.
Sarah Sokolovic, René Augesen, and April Matthis
in
A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo by Carol Rosegg
A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo by Carol Rosegg
If Augesen seems to evoke the
essence of her character, the same cannot be said for Manganiello, for during
much of the evening his toughness and menace seem to rest uneasily on the
surface. There’s a sense that the actor, a tall, well-muscled man, is having
trouble evoking the essence of Stanley :
he hooks his thumbs into his belt in a tough-guy stance, he jabs his finger a
lot and raises his voice, but he can’t seem to help projecting the idea that
“I’m not really like this.” However, in the pivotal third act, he seems to
finally embrace the character he is portraying and becomes the caveman Blanche
has described him as. His evisceration of the “moth” is riveting.
Of the three main characters,
Stella, Stanley ’s
wife, has always been the most problematic, with critics and playgoers alike
questioning why this woman would stay with such a brutish, abusive man.
However, Sokolovic’s portrayal of the young woman ably answers the question.
She is a woman who understands her man and revels in their mutual physical
attraction. She controls him in all the subtle ways that women train their
semi-housebroken mates. Near the end of the play, just before Blanche is
escorted out of the apartment, she tells her neighbor, Eunice (April Matthis)
that if she believes Blanche’s story about what happened the night she was in
the hospital giving birth then she can no longer stay with Stanley. In the end,
like her sister, she opts for illusion over reality. This line, often
criticized as being unbelievable, is, as delivered by Sokolovic, totally in
character.
René Augesen and Sarah Sokolovic in A Streetcar
Named Desire.
Photo © Carol Rosegg
Photo © Carol Rosegg
Some of Augesen’s finest moments
are played with Adam O’Byrne, the play’s Harold “Mitch” Mitchell, Blanche’s
ostensible suitor. The actor exudes just the right amount of need and naïveté
as he tentatively courts Blanche, only to attack her after Stanley reveals her past to him, and then, in
the closing moments, regrets his part in this fragile soul’s destruction.
All of this takes place on a single
set, designed by Reid Thompson, that captures the essential seediness that
Stella has embraced, an effect enhanced by Stephen Strawbridge’s subtle
lighting, and the evening (well over two hours with two intermissions)
essentially moves apace under Rucker’s direction. One might suggest that he
give a little more attention to clarity of line delivery, especially with Manganiello,
who seems, at times, to swallow his lines, and that, in the pivotal scene in
which Stanley reveals to Stella all he has learned about Blanche, the song
(“It’s Only a Paper Moon”) that Blanche is singing while she bathes could be
more audible, for it is heavy with irony.
These, however, are minor points,
for the Rep has put together an essentially strong cast and has done itself
proud with this production. Blanche’s inevitable fall is charted with insight
and growing tension, allowing the audience to have a truly cathartic
experience.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” runs
through Oct. 12. For tickets or more information call 203.432.1234 or visit:
www.yalerep.org
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