A Streetcar Named Desire (play) Totally Explained

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ť This article is about the Tennessee Williams play. For other uses, see A Streetcar Named Desire (disambiguation).

A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. It was both a critical and box office success.
   Widely considered a landmark play, Streetcar deals with a culture clash between two symbolic characters, Blanche DuBois, a pretentious, fading relic of the Old South, and Stanley Kowalski, a rising member of the industrial, urban immigrant class.
   The play opened on Broadway on December 3 1947 and closed on December 17 1949 in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden. The production was nominated for and won two Tony awards. Streetcar came shortly after Williams's first big success of 1945, The Glass Menagerie.
   In 1951, a film of the play, directed by Elia Kazan, won several awards, including an Academy Award for Vivien Leigh as Best Actress in the role of Blanche. In 1995, it was made into an opera with music by Andre Previn and presented by the San Francisco Opera.

Plot

The play presents Blanche DuBois, a fading but still-attractive Southern belle whose pretensions to virtue and culture only thinly mask delusions of grandeur and alcoholism. Her poise is an illusion she presents to shield others, but most of all herself, from her reality, and an attempt to make herself still attractive to new male suitors. Blanche arrives at the apartment of her sister Stella Kowalski in the Faubourg Marigny of New Orleans, on Elysian Fields Avenue; the local transportation she takes to arrive there includes a streetcar route named "Desire". The steamy, urban ambiance is a shock to Blanche's nerves. Explaining that her ancestral southern plantation, Belle Reve (translated from French as "Beautiful Dream", though the correct French phrase is actually Beau Rêve), in Laurel, Mississippi, has been "lost" due to the "epic fornications" of her ancestors, Blanche is welcomed with some trepidation by Stella, who fears the reaction of her husband Stanley. Blanche explains to them how her supervisor told her she could take time off from her job as an English teacher because of her upset nerves, when in fact, she's been fired for having an affair with a 17-year-old student. This turns out not to be the only seduction she's engaged in—and, along with other problems, has left Laurel to escape. A brief marriage scarred by discovery of her spouse's homosexual affair and his subsequent suicide has led Blanche to live in a world in which her fantasies and illusions are seamlessly mixed with her reality.
   In contrast to both the self-effacing and deferent Stella and the pretentious refinement of Blanche, Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski, is a force of nature: primal, rough-hewn, brutish and sensual. He dominates Stella in every way and is physically and emotionally abusive. Stella tolerates his primal behaviour as this is part of what attracted her in the first place; their love and relationship is heavily based on powerful even animalistic sexual chemistry, something that Blanche finds impossible to understand.
   The arrival of Blanche upsets her sister and brother-in-law's system of mutual dependence. Stella's concern for her sister's well-being emboldens Blanche to hold court in the Kowalski apartment, infuriating Stanley and leading to conflict in his relationship with his wife. Stanley's friend and Blanche's would-be suitor Mitch is trampled along Blanche and Stanley's collision course. Stanley discovers Blanche's past through a co-worker who travels to Laurel frequently, and Stanley confronts Blanche with the things she's been trying to put behind her, partly out of concern that her character flaws may be damaging to the lives of those in her new home, just as they were in Laurel, and partly out of a distaste for pretence in general. However, his attempts to "unmask" her are predictably cruel and violent. Their final, inevitable confrontation—a rape—results in Blanche's nervous breakdown. Stanley has her committed to a mental institution, and in the closing moments, Blanche utters her signature line to the kindly doctor who leads her away: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers", reminding us of one of the flaws that has led her to this point--relying too heavily on the attentions of men to fulfill and rescue her.
   The reference to the streetcar called Desire—providing the aura of New Orleans geography—is symbolic. Blanche not only has to travel on a streetcar route named "Desire" to reach Stella's home on "Elysian Fields" but her desire acts as an irrepressible force throughout the play—she can only hang on as her desires lead her.

Themes and motifs

Illusion versus reality

A recurring theme found in A Streetcar Named Desire is a constant conflict between reality and fantasy, actual and ideal. Blanche says "I don't want realism, I want magic." This recurring theme is read most strongly in Williams' characterization of Blanche DuBois and the physical tropes that she employs in her pursuit of what is magical and idealized: the paper lampshade she employs to cover the harsh white light bulb in the living room, her chronically deceptive recounting of her last years in Belle Reve, the misleading letters she presumes to write to Shep Huntleigh, and a pronounced tendency toward excess consumption of alcohol. As one critic writes, "Blanche spins a cocoon linguistically for protection." Blanche creates her own fantasy world through the characters she plays, such as the damsel, southern belle or school teacher. She wears her costumes creating a façade to hide behind, concealing her secrets and attempting to reach her former glory, and illustrating her inability to relate to others in a "normal" sense.
Notably, Blanche's deception of others and herself isn't characterized by malicious intent, but rather a heart-broken and saddened retreat to a romantic time and happier moments before disaster struck her life (her previous loved one, the refined Allan Gray, committed suicide during a Varsouviana Polka, as a reaction to Blanche's revulsion when she discovered he was homosexual, after she accidentally encountered him having sex with an older man).

Abandonment of chivalric codes

In most fairy tales, the ailing princess or the damsel in distress is often rescued by a heroic white knight. A Streetcar Named Desire is characterized by the conspicuous absence of the male protagonist imbued with heroic qualities. Indeed, the polar opposite of what a literary chivalric hero might be, is represented in the leading male character of the play, Stanley Kowalski. Stanley is described by Blanche as a "survivor of the Stone Age" and is further depicted in this primitive light by numerous traits that he exhibits: uncivilized manners, demanding and forceful behavior, lack of empathy, crass selfishness, and a chauvinistic attitude towards women. The replacement of the heroic white knight by a character such as Stanley Kowalski further heightens Williams' theme of the demise of the romantic "Old South."

Film adaptations

In 1951, Elia Kazan directed a movie based on the play. References to Allan Gray's homosexuality are essentially removed, due to censorship common at the time. Instead, the reason for his suicide is changed to a general "weakness". The play is referenced in Pedro Almodovar's 1999 Academy Award-winning film, All About My Mother, in which a Spanish-language version of the play is seen being performed by some of the supporting characters. However, some of the dialogue is based on the 1951 film version, not the original stage version.

Opera and ballet adaptations

In 1995, the opera, A Streetcar Named Desire composed by André Previn with a libretto by Philip Littell, after the play by Tennessee Williams had its premiere at the San Francisco Opera during the 1998-99 season. It featured Renee Fleming as Blanche.
A 1952 ballet production, which was staged at Her Majesty's Theatre in Montreal, featured the music of Alex North, who also composed the music for the film version.

Stage productions

Original Broadway production

The original Broadway production was produced by Irene Mayer Selznick. It opened at the Shubert in New Haven (External Link

) shortly before moving to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 3, 1947. Selznick originally wanted to cast Margaret Sullavan and John Garfield, but settled on Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy, who were both virtual unknowns at the time. Brando was given car fare to Tennessee Williams' home in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he not only gave a sensational reading, but did some house repairs as well. Tandy was cast after Williams saw her performance in a West Coast production of his one-act play Portrait of a Madonna. The opening night cast also included Kim Hunter as Stella and Karl Malden as Mitch. Later in the run, Uta Hagen replaced Tandy, and Anthony Quinn replaced Brando. Hagen and Quinn took the show on a national tour and then returned back to Broadway for additional performances. Early on, when Brando broke his nose, Jack Palance took over his role. Ralph Meeker also took on the part of Stanley both in the Broadway and touring companies. Tandy received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The production received no other Tony nominations. Brando portrayed Stanley with an overt sexuality that made him, the character of Stanley, and Tennessee Williams into cultural touchstones. Brando's magnetic performance caused audiences to sympathize with Stanley in the opening scenes of the play, effectively implicating them in Stanley's eventual brutality towards Blanche. Brando, Hunter and Malden went on to appear in the film version.

London production

Vivien Leigh, who won an Academy Award for the 1951 film version, appeared in a 1949 London production, at the Aldwych Theatre, which was directed by her husband, Laurence Olivier. Bonar Colleano co-starred as Stanley.

Revivals

Tallulah Bankhead, whom Tennessee Williams had in mind when writing the play, starred in a 1956 New York City Center Company production directed by Herbert Machiz. The production, which was staged at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, also featured Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Stanley and Frances Heflin as Stella. The production wasn't well received and only ran 16 performances.
   The first Broadway revival of the play was in 1973. It was produced by the Lincoln Center, at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, and starred Rosemary Harris as Blanche and James Farentino as Stanley. Only two months after the production closed, Lincoln Center artistic director Jules Irving replaced Ellis Raab, who directed the first revival, with himself as director and put on another production, this time at the St. James Theatre. This production featured Lois Nettleton as Blanche and Alan Feinstein as Stanley. Irving's wife, Priscilla Pointer also appeared in the production.
   Also in 1973, a specially billed "25th Anniversary Production" of the play was produced at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Los Angeles Music Center, with performances running from March 20 to April 28. Tennessee Williams personally selected Faye Dunaway to star as Blanche opposite Jon Voight as Stanley. The production, which also featured Earl Holliman as Mitch and Frances Lee McCain as Stella, was directed by James Bridges.
   A 1974 London production, staged at the Piccadilly Theatre, starred Claire Bloom as Blanche, a role that Bloom calls her favorite. Martin Shaw played the part of Stanley, with Joss Ackland as Mitch and Morag Hood as Stella. New York-based stage veteran Edwin Sherin directed the production. (External Link

) In 1983, a London production directed by Alan Strachan opened at the Greenwich Theatre and a few months later transferred to the Mermaid Theatre. This production, produced shortly after Williams' death, featured Sheila Gish as Blanche, with Clare Higgins, Duncan Preston, Keith Edwards, Roy Heather and Cilla Kanyua. Williams had written to Gish to say that he was looking forward toward seeing her performance. This production was delayed because Williams' literary executor, Maria St. Just, demanded that Gish be replaced because Gish was wrong for the part. Gish, however, played the part to great acclaim. (External Link

) A 1986 production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival featured Blythe Danner as Blanche, Christopher Walken as Stanley, Sigourney Weaver as Stella and James Naughton as Mitch. This production was directed by Nikos Psacharopoulos, who also directed the 1988 Broadway revival.
   A 1988 revival, which was sprung out from the 1986 Williamstown production, was produced by Circle in the Square Theatre, starred Aidan Quinn as Stanley, Frances McDormand as Stella, and Blythe Danner as Blanche. Both Danner and McDormand were nominated for a Tony Award in the same category, Best Actress in a Play. The production itself was nominated for Best Revival.
   A highly publicized 1992 revival starred Alec Baldwin as Stanley and Jessica Lange as Blanche. This production proved so successful that it was filmed for television. The stage revival was staged at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, the same theatre the original production was staged in. It featured Timothy Carhart as Mitch and Amy Madigan as Stella, as well as future Sopranos stars James Gandolfini and Aida Turturro. Gandolfini was Carhart's understudy. Baldwin received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play.
   Lange appeared again as Blanche in a 1996 London production that played at the Haymarket Theatre. It was directed by Peter Hall and featured Toby Stephens as Stanley and Imogen Stubbs as Stella. (External Link

) It was rumored that Madonna was interested in playing the part.
In 1997, theatres around the country produced 50th Anniversary revivals, including American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Southern Repertory Theatre in New Orleans and Steppenwolf Theatre company in Chicago. The Steppenwolf production was directed by Terry Kinney and featured Gary Sinise as Stanley, Laila Robins as Blanche, John C. Reilly as Mitch and Kathryn Erbe as Stella. The Southern Repertory Theatre production in New Orleans was produced in association with the Tennessee Williams Festival and featured Michael Arata as Stanley (who American Theatre Magazine called "unhinged and electrifying"), and an original score by Grammy Award winners Ellis Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis. Glenn Close headlined a London revival at the Royal National Theatre in 2002. This production was directed by Trevor Nunn and featured Iain Glen as Stanley, Essie Davis as Stella and Robert Pastorelli, a "close" friend of Close, as Mitch.
A 2005 revival, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, starred John C. Reilly as Stanley and Natasha Richardson as Blanche. Earlier, Reilly had played Mitch opposite Gary Sinise's Stanley at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. It also featured Amy Ryan as Stella and Chris Bauer as Mitch. Ryan was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and the production also received nominations for Best Costume Design of a Play and Best Lighting Design of a Play.

Television productions

In 1955, the television program Omnibus featured Jessica Tandy reviving her original Broadway performance as Blanche, with her husband, Hume Cronyn, as Mitch. It aired only portions of the play that featured the Blanche and Mitch characters.
   The multi-Emmy Award-winning 1984 television version featured Ann-Margret as Blanche, Treat Williams as Stanley, Beverly D'Angelo as Stella and Randy Quaid as Mitch. It was directed by John Erman and the teleplay was adapted by Oscar Saul. The music score by composed by Marvin Hamlisch. Ann-Margret, D'Angelo and Quaid were all nominated for Emmy Awards, but none won. However, it did win four Emmys, including one for cinematographer Bill Butler. Ann-Margret won a Golden Globe award for her performance and Treat Williams was nominated for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.
   A 1995 television version was based on the highly successful Broadway revival that starred Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. However, only Baldwin and Lange were from the stage production. The TV version added John Goodman as Mitch and Diane Lane as Stella. This production was directed by Glenn Jordan. Baldwin, Lange and Goodman all received Emmy Award nominations. Lange won a Golden Globe award (for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie), while Baldwin was nominated for Best Actor, but didn't win.
   In 1998, PBS aired a taped version of the opera adaptation that featured the original San Francisco Opera cast. The program received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Classical Music/Dance Program.

Comparison with other works

As described above, Williams was writing in the familiar literary tradition of the Southern Gothic. Faulkner was soon to win the Nobel Prize for his many books set in a landscape of decadent (but chivalric) aristocrats shouldered aside by coarse (but vital) hustlers and ethnics like Stanley—who, despite the torn T-shirt, is a successful engineer, not a laborer. Faulkner's and Erskine Caldwell's successful work would have led theater-goers attending this new "Southern" play to expect poetry, despair, alcohol, and scantily draped bodies sweating in the heat. The cry, "You've lost Belle Reve?" was close to cliché even by Williams's time. It could be claimed that the theatrical genre dates from the works of Chekhov, who explored the parallel decay of the upper class in turn-of-the-century Russia. Marxists may argue that Stanley represents the proletariat (working class) which desires to overthrow the bourgeoisie, but this interpretation hasn't been popular among Williams's critics. Blanche, with her aristocratic pretensions, is no bourgeois. It is Stanley who is a coarse, but genuine petit bourgeois: his life revolves around marriage, sex, his home, the money he fears Blanche is cheating him out of, the son he hopes for, and his immediate personal pleasures.

Streetcar revival in New Orleans

Over 50 years after the play opened, the revival of the streetcar system in New Orleans is credited by many to the worldwide fame gained by the streetcars made by the Perley A. Thomas Car Works, Inc. which were operating on the Desire route in the play, and have been carefully restored and continue to operate there in 2004 (though not on the Desire Street route.) Streetcars along the Canal Street in downtown New Orleans are up and running. Previously, the St. Charles Avenue line is in partial service due to damages sustained during Hurricane Katrina but as of January 2008, it's in full operation. Presently, though, there's merely a bus named Desire. Plans have recently been made to revive the streetcar line and funding was allocated for the project in the U.S. Department of Transportation's FY97 budget. However, the projected was halted prior to Hurricane Katrina and there's no word, as of yet, to when it'll resume.

"A Streetcar Named Marge"

A fourth-season episode of the animated series The Simpsons entitled "A Streetcar Named Marge" featured the characters putting on a musical version of Streetcar. The musical production within the show was titled Oh! Streetcar!.

A Streetcar Named Success

A Streetcar Named Success is an essay by Tennessee Williams about art and the artist's role in society. It is often included in paper editions of A Streetcar Named Desire.
A version of this essay first appeared in the New York Times, November 30, 1947, four days before the opening of A Streetcar Named Desire. Another version of this essay, titled "The Catastrophe of Success " is sometimes used as an introduction to The Glass Menagerie.

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